Method and compositions for the detection of protein glycosylation

ABSTRACT

The invention provides methods and compositions for the rapid and sensitive detection of post-translationally modified proteins, and particularly of those with post-translational glycosylations. The methods can be used to detect O-GlcNAc post-translational modifications on proteins on which such modifications were undetectable using other techniques. In one embodiment, the method exploits the ability of an engineered mutant of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase to selectively transfer an unnatural ketone functionality onto O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins. Once transferred, the ketone moiety serves as a versatile handle for the attachment of biotin, thereby enabling detection of the modified protein. The approach permits the rapid visualization of proteins that are at the limits of detection using traditional methods. Further, the preferred embodiments can be used for detection of certain disease states, such as cancer, Alzheimer&#39;s disease, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent No. 60/523,523, filed Nov. 18, 2003, hereinincorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

This invention was made in part with government support under the NSFCAREER Award (CHE-0239861) awarded by the National Science Foundationand under the National Institutes of Health Training Grant T32GM07616awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The Government may havecertain rights in this invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to labeling, detecting, and/or isolating proteinswith post-translational modifications.

2. Description of the Related Art

Protein glycosylation is one of the most abundant post-translationalmodifications and plays a fundamental role in the control of biologicalsystems. For example, carbohydrate modifications are important forhost-pathogen interactions, inflammation, development, andmalignancy.(1) One such covalent modification is O-GlcNAc glycosylation,which is the covalent modification of serine and threonine residues byβ-N-acetylglucosamine.(2) The O-GlcNAc modification is found in allhigher eukaryotic organisms from C. elegans to man and has been shown tobe ubiquitous, inducible and highly dynamic, suggesting a regulatoryrole analogous to phosphorylation. However, the regulatory nature of themodification (i.e., dynamic, low cellular abundance) also represents acentral challenge in its detection and study.

A common method to observe O-GlcNAc involves labeling proteins withβ-1,4-galactosyltransferase (GalT), an enzyme that catalyzes thetransfer of [³H]-Gal from UDP-[³H]galactose to terminal GlcNAcgroups.(3) Unfortunately, this approach is expensive, involves handlingof radioactive material, and requires exposure times of days to months.Antibodies (4,5) and lectins (3) offer alternative means of detection,but they can suffer from weak binding affinity and limited specificity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, there is a need for methods of labeling and detectingproteins with post-translational modifications, particularlyglycosylated proteins. The preferred embodiments provided herein addressthese and other needs in the art.

The preferred embodiments provide methods and compositions for labeling,for detection of, or other purposes, post-translationally modifiedproteins.

One embodiment comprises a method for detecting a post-translationallymodified protein with a pendant moiety comprising contacting the proteinwith a labeling agent capable of reacting with the pendant moiety in thepresence of an enzyme, wherein the labeling agent comprises a chemicalhandle; and reacting the chemical handle with a detection agent; anddetecting the detecting agent.

In Paragraph [0008], the pendant moiety is a glycosyl group.

In Paragraph [0009], the glycosyl group is selected from the groupconsisting of glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, GalNAc, GlcNAc andNANA.

In Paragraph [0010], the glycosyl group is GlcNAc.

In Paragraph [0008], the enzyme is a glycosyl transferase.

In Paragraph [0012], the glycosyl transferase is GalT or a mutantthereof.

In Paragraph [0008], the detection agent is selected from the groupconsisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymatic reagent that can convertsubstrates colorimetrically or fluorometrically, fluorescent andluminescent probe, metal-binding probe, protein-binding probe, probe forantibody-based binding, radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-labelor spectroscopic probe, heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containingprobe, probe for protein cross-linking, and probe for binding toparticles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.

In Paragraph [0008], the detection agent recruits another agent selectedfrom the group consisting of a labeling agent, an enzyme, and asecondary detection agent.

In Paragraph [0015], the detection agent is biotin or biotin derivative.

In Paragraph [0016], biotin recruits a secondary detection agentselected from the group consisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymaticreagent that can convert substrates colorimetrically orfluorometrically, fluorescent and luminescent probe, metal-bindingprobe, protein-binding probe, probe for antibody-based binding,radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-label or spectroscopic probe,heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containing probe, probe for proteincross-linking, and probe for binding to particles or surfaces thatcontain complementary functionality.

In Paragraph [0008], the chemical handle is selected from the groupconsisting of carbonyl group, azide group, alkyne group, and olefingroup.

In Paragraph [0018], the chemical handle is a carbonyl group.

In Paragraph [0019], the detection agent comprises a reactive groupselected from the group consisting of —NR¹—NH₂ (hydrazide),—NR¹(C═O)NR²NH₂ (semicarbazide), —NR¹(C═S)NR²NH₂ (thiosemicarbazide),—(C═O)NR¹NH₂ (carbonylhydrazide), —(C═S)NR¹NH₂ (thiocarbonylhydrazide),—(SO₂)NR¹NH₂ (sulfonylhydrazide), —NR¹NR²(C═O)NR³NH₂ (carbazide),—NR¹NR²(C═S)NR³NH₂ (thiocarbazide), and —O—NH₂ (aminooxy), wherein eachR¹, R², and R³ is independently H or alkyl having 1-6 carbons.

In Paragraph [0020], the detection agent comprises a reactive groupselected from the group consisting of hydrazide, aminooxy,semicarbazide, carbohydrazide, and sulfonylhydrazide.

In Paragraph [0008], the detecting step is achieved by a means selectedfrom the group consisting of radioactively, chemiluminescent,fluorescent, mass spectrometric, spin-labeling, and affinity labeling.

One embodiment comprises a method for detecting a post-translationallymodified protein with a pendant moiety comprising contacting the proteinwith a labeling

agent of the formula in the presence of GalT or a mutant of GalT,thereby producing labeled protein; and reacting the labeled protein witha detection agent; and detecting the detection agent.

In Paragraph [0023], the pendant moiety is a glycosyl group.

In Paragraph [0024], the glycosyl group is selected from the groupconsisting of glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, GalNAc, GlcNAc andNANA.

In Paragraph [0025], the glycosyl group is GlcNAc.

In Paragraph [0023], the GalT is mutated with Y289L.

In Paragraph [0023], the detection agent is selected from the groupconsisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymatic reagent that can convertsubstrates colorimetrically or fluorometrically, fluorescent andluminescent probe, metal-binding probe, protein-binding probe, probe forantibody-based binding, radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-labelor spectroscopic probe, heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containingprobe, probe for protein cross-linking, and probe for binding toparticles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.

In Paragraph [0023], the detection agent recruits another agent selectedfrom the group consisting of a labeling agent, an enzyme, and asecondary detection agent.

In Paragraph [0029], the detection agent is biotin or biotin derivative.

In Paragraph [0030], biotin recruits a secondary detection agentselected from the group consisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymaticreagent that can convert substrates colorimetrically orfluorometrically, fluorescent and luminescent probe, metal-bindingprobe, protein-binding probe, probe for antibody-based binding,radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-label or spectroscopic probe,heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containing probe, probe for proteincross-linking, and probe for binding to particles or surfaces thatcontain complementary functionality.

In Paragraph [0023], the detection agent comprises a reactive groupselected from the group consisting of —NR¹—NH₂ (hydrazide),—NR¹(C═O)NR²NH₂ (semicarbazide), —NR¹(C═S)NR²NH₂ (thiosemicarbazide),—(C═O)NR¹NH₂ (carbonylhydrazide), —(C═S)NR¹NH₂ (thiocarbonylhydrazide),—(SO₂)NR¹NH₂ (sulfonylhydrazide), —NR¹NR²(C═O)NR³NH₂ (carbazide),—NR¹NR²(C═S)NR³NH₂ (thiocarbazide), and —O—NH₂ (hydroxylamine), whereineach R¹, R², and R³ is independently H or alkyl having 1-6 carbons.

In Paragraph [0023], the detection agent comprises a reactive groupselected from the group consisting of hydrazide, hydroxylamine,semicarbazide, carbohydrazide, and sulfonylhydrazide.

In Paragraph [0023], the detecting step is achieved by a means selectedfrom the group consisting of radioactively, chemiluminescent,fluorescent, mass spectrometric, spin-labeling, and affinity labeling.

One embodiment comprises a compound of the formula:

wherein R is a substituent selected from the group consisting ofstraight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing a carbonyl group,azide group, straight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing anazide group, straight chain or branched C₁-C₂ carbon chain bearing analkyne, and straight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing analkene.

In Paragraph [0035], R is selected from the group consisting of straightchain or branched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing a carbonyl group, azidegroup, straight chain or branched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing an azidegroup, straight chain or branched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing an alkyne,and straight chain or branched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing an alkene.

In Paragraph [0035], the formula is

One embodiment comprises a labeled protein obtained from contacting apost-translationally modified protein comprising a pendant moiety with alabeling agent capable of reacting with the pendant moiety in thepresence of an enzyme, wherein the labeling agent comprises a chemicalhandle; and reacting the chemical handle with a detection agent.

In Paragraph [0038], the pendant moiety is a glycosyl group.

In Paragraph [0039], the glycosyl group is selected from the groupconsisting of glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, GalNAc, GlcNAc andNANA.

In Paragraph [0040], the glycosyl group is GlcNAc.

In Paragraph [0038], the enzyme is a glycosyl transferase.

In Paragraph [0042], the glycosyl transferase is GalT or a mutantthereof.

In Paragraph [0038], the detection agent is selected from the groupconsisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymatic reagent that can convertsubstrates colorimetrically or fluorometrically, fluorescent andluminescent probe, metal-binding probe, protein-binding probe, probe forantibody-based binding, radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-labelor spectroscopic probe, heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containingprobe, probe for protein cross-linking, and probe for binding toparticles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.

In Paragraph [0038], the detection agent recruits another agent selectedfrom the group consisting of a labeling agent, an enzyme, and asecondary detection agent.

In Paragraph [0045], the detection agent is biotin or biotin derivative.

In Paragraph [0046], biotin recruits a secondary detection agentselected from the group consisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymaticreagent that can convert substrates colorimetrically orfluorometrically, fluorescent and luminescent probe, metal-bindingprobe, protein-binding probe, probe for antibody-based binding,radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-label or spectroscopic probe,heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containing probe, probe for proteincross-linking, and probe for binding to particles or surfaces thatcontain complementary functionality.

In Paragraph [0038], the chemical handle is selected from the groupconsisting of carbonyl group, azide group, alkyne group, and olefingroup.

In Paragraph [0048], the chemical handle is a carbonyl group.

In Paragraph [0049], the detection agent comprises a reactive groupselected from the group consisting of —NR¹—NH₂ (hydrazide),—NR(C═O)NR²NH₂ (semicarbazide), —NR¹(C═S)NR²NH₂ (thiosemicarbazide),—(C═O)NR¹NH₂ (carbonylhydrazide), —(C═S) NR¹NH₂ (thiocarbonylhydrazide),—(SO₂)NR¹NH₂ (sulfonylhydrazide), —NR¹NR²(C═O)NR³NH₂ (carbazide),—NR¹NR²(C═S)NR³NH₂ (thiocarbazide), and —O—NH₂ (aminooxy), wherein eachR¹, R², and R³ is independently H or alkyl having 1-6 carbons.

In Paragraph [0049], the detection agent comprises a reactive groupselected from the group consisting of hydrazide, aminooxy,semicarbazide, carbohydrazide, and sulfonylhydrazide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a general scheme of detecting post-translationallymodified proteins comprising a pendant moiety. FIG. 1B shows a generalstrategy for detection of O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins.

FIG. 2 shows a scheme for preparing labeling agent 1.

FIG. 3 shows labeling of the peptide TAPTS(O-GlcNAc)TIAPG (SEQ ID NO: 1)via LC-MS traces.

FIG. 4 shows selective labeling of glycosylated CREB, where CREB fromSf9 cells were tested in lanes 1-3 and E. coli was tested in lane 4.

FIG. 5 shows labeling of α-crystallin, and comparison with severalexisting detection methods.

FIG. 6 shows reverse phase LC-MS analysis of O-GlcNAc peptide labelingreactions at (A) time 0, (B) 6 h after the addition of 1 and Y289L GalT,(C) 8 h after aminooxy biotin addition. Trace D shows aminooxy biotin inthe absence of 1, Y289L GalT and O-GlcNAc peptide.

FIG. 7 shows electrospray ionization mass spectra of the peaks in FIG.6: (A) spectrum of the peptide starting material (peak a),[M_(GICNAC)+H]⁺=1118.4, (B) spectrum of the ketone product (peak b),[M_(ketone-GlcNAc)+H]⁺=1320.5, (C) spectra of the biotin impurity (peakc 1), peak c2, and the oxime product (peak c3), (D) spectrum of thebiotin impurity (peak d), obtained by incubating biotin in the absenceof 1, Y289L GalT and O-GlcNAc peptide.

FIG. 8 shows (A) reverse phase LC-MS analysis and accompanying massspectra of the labeling reaction 12 h after the addition of 1 andwild-type GalT, and (B) the EI mass spectra of peaks a and b confirm theidentities of the O-GlcNAc glycosylated peptide, [M_(GicNAc)+H]⁺=1118m/z, and the product, [M_(ketone—GlcNAc)+H]⁺=1320.635 m/z and[M_(ketone-GlcNAc)+2H]²⁺=661 m/z, respectively.

FIG. 9 shows labeling of glycosylated CREB from Sf9 cells (lanes 1-3 and7-9) or E. coli (lanes 4-6 and 10-12).

FIG. 10 shows streptavidin-HRP blot of the α-crystallin labelingreactions and the accompanying Coomassie-stained gel of each reaction.

FIG. 11 shows Western blots of α-crystallin using the RL-2 antibody (A)and CTD110.6 antibody (B).

FIG. 12 shows blotting of α-crystallin using WGA lectin.

FIG. 13 shows a general strategy for identifying O-GlcNAc proteins fromcell lysates.

FIG. 14 shows (A) captured proteins from HeLa cell lysates followinglabeling, and (B) labeled lysates prior to (Input) or following(Capture) affinity capture as probed by Western blotting usingantibodies against the indicated proteins.

FIG. 15 shows (A) LC-MS signature of the enriched O-GlcNAc peptide fromCREB, and (B) glycosylated peptides from OGT.

FIG. 16 shows (A) removal of N-linked glycans from ovalbumin usingPNGase F, and (B) immunoprecipitation of radiolabeled c-Fos.

FIG. 17 shows enrichment of CREB O-GlcNAc peptides via thechemoenzymatic strategy: (A) MALDI-TOF spectrum of CREB tryptic peptidesprior to avidin chromatography, (B) MALDI-TOF spectrum of the eluentfollowing avidin affinity capture of CREB peptides. The spectrum revealsenrichment of the labeled CREB peptide at m/z 3539.82 as well as twopeaks at m/z 3555.80 and 3571.68 that correspond to oxidized forms ofthis peptide. The peptide at m/z 2988.52 displays some nonspecificinteraction with the avidin column and can be readily discerned asunlabeled by LC-MS/MS.

FIG. 18 shows enrichment of OGT O-GlcNAc peptides via the chemoenzymaticlabeling strategy: (A) MALDI-TOF spectrum of OGT tryptic peptides priorto avidin chromatography reveals a number of OGT peptides while nolabeled O-GlcNAc modified peptides are visible, and (B) MALDI-TOFspectrum of eluted peptides following avidin affinity chromatographyreveals enrichment of a peak at m/z 2548.16 and two oxidized forms ofthe same peptide.

FIG. 19 shows identification of the O-GIcNAc modified peptide²⁵⁶TAPTSTIAPGVVMASSPALPTQPAEEAAR²⁸⁴ (SEQ ID NO.: 7) on CREB by LC-MS/MS.

FIG. 20 shows identification of O-GlcNAc modified peptides on OGT byLC-MS/MS: (A) tandem mass spectra of the labeled O-GlcNAc peptide³⁹⁰ISPTFADAYSNMoxGNTLK⁴⁰⁶ (SEQ ID NO: 2) (m/z 856.02), and (B) tandemmass spectra of the labeled O-GlcNAc peptide ¹⁰³⁷IKPVEVTESA¹⁰⁴⁶ (SEQ IDNO: 3) (m/z 895.96).

FIG. 21 shows a chemoselective strategy for identifyingO-GlcNAc-glycosylated proteins from cellular lysates.

FIG. 22 shows (A) MS analysis revealing the tagged O-GlcNAc peptide¹⁵⁸AIPVSREEKPSSAPSS¹⁷³ (SEQ ID NO: 4) (m/z 787.86), and (B) summary ofthe y and b fragment ions observed.

FIG. 23 shows (A) summed m/z spectrum of ions eluting from the LC columnwith retention time 17.0 to 18.1 minutes, (B) MS/MS spectrum of arepresentative peak (m/z=789.23), showing loss of a ketone-biotin moiety(m/z=925.50) and GlcNAc-ketone-biotin moiety (m/z 823.92), and (C)prominent fragment ions used to identify the peptide as²⁰³VSGHAAVTTPKVYSE²¹⁸ (SEQ ID NO: 5) from synaptopodin.

FIG. 24 shows (A) strategy for the formation of a stable sulfide adductfrom tagged O-GlcNAc peptides, (B) MS/MS analysis of the sulfide adductof peptide ³⁶⁰AVGSVVSVPSHSSASSDK³⁷⁸ (SEQ ID NO: 6) from HIV-1 Revbinding protein, (C) MS/MS spectrum of the corresponding peptide priorto β-elimination shows the characteristic ketone-biotin signature,indicating that the original peptide was O-GlcNAc glycosylated, and (D)summary of the prominent b and y ions from MS/MS analysis of theβ-eliminated peptide.

FIG. 25 shows functional classification of the identified O-GlcNAcproteins according to categories described by Schoof et al. (1)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiments provide methods and compositions for labelingfor detection or other purposes, post-translationally modified proteins.An embodiment comprises a labeled protein obtained from contacting apost-translationally modified protein comprising a pendant moiety with alabeling agent capable of reacting with the pendant moiety in thepresence of an enzyme, wherein the labeling agent comprises a chemicalhandle; and reacting the chemical handle with a detection agent.Further, the preferred embodiments can be used for detection of certaindisease states, such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration,cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

As set forth generally in FIG. 1A, the methods of the preferredembodiments involve contacting a protein or mixture of proteins furthercomprising a pendant moiety with a labeling agent capable of reactingwith the pendant moiety on the protein. An enzyme can transfer thelabeling agent or portion thereof to the pendant moiety on the protein.A modified protein results from reaction of the labeling agent with thependant moiety of the protein. In one embodiment, the pendant moiety isa carbohydrate moiety. When the pendant moiety is a carbohydrate, theenzyme can be, for example, a glycosyltransferase.

The labeling agent further can comprise a chemical handle. The chemicalhandle on the labeling agent can be used to further react the modifiedprotein with a detection agent via a reactive group on the detectionagent. The chemical handle preferably does not react substantially witha protein or other components of a biological mixture.

The detection agent can be detectable through various detection means,such as, but not limited to, radioactively, chemiluminescence,fluorescence, mass spectrometry, spin labeling, affinity labeling, orthe like. The detection agent can be, for example, a radiolabeledcompound or a fluorescent compound. The detection agent also can bedetectable indirectly, for example, by recruitment of one or moreadditional factors.

For example, FIG. 1A shows a general scheme of a detection ofpost-translationally modified proteins comprising a pendant moiety.

As used herein, “pendant moiety” refers to substituent of the protein.For example, certain post-translational modifications extend a range ofpossible functions a protein can have by introducing chemical groups or“pendant moieties” into the makeup of a protein.

As used herein, “labeling agent” is an agent that can react with apendant moiety of a protein. A labeling agent can further comprise achemical handle for further elaboration or detection.

As used herein, “chemical handle” is a functional group. In anembodiment, the chemical handle can be one of a number of groups as setforth below that can react in a selective manner with a detection agentvia a reactive group in the presence of various biomolecules.Alternatively, the chemical handle can itself comprise a detectionagent. Such detection agent can be a radioactive atom, as describedbelow.

As used herein and described below, “reactive group” is a functionalgroup that undergoes a chemical reaction with the chemical handle. Areactive group can be contained on a detection agent to react with thechemical handle.

As used herein, “detection agent” is an agent that has a property thatcan be observed spectroscopically or visually. Methods for production ofdetectably labeled proteins using detection agents are well known in theart. Detectable labels include, but are not limited to, radioisotopes,fluorophores, paramagnetic labels, antibodies, enzymes (e.g.,horseradish peroxidase), or other moieties or compounds which eitheremit a detectable signal (e.g., radioactivity, fluorescence, color) oremit a detectable signal after exposure of the detection agent to itssubstrate.

Protein/Pendant Moiety Substrates

Post-translational modification is alteration of a primary structure ofthe protein after the protein has been translated. There are a widerange of modifications that can take place, such as cleavage, N-terminalextensions, protein degradation, acylation of the N-terminus, amidationof the C-terminal, glycosylation, γ-carboxyglutamine acid, Gal,iodination, covalent attachment of prosthetic groups, phosphorylation,methylation, acetylation, adenylation and ADP-ribosylation, covalentcross links within, or between, polypeptide chains, sulfonation,prenylation, Vitamin C dependent modifications, Vitamin K dependentmodification, and selenoproteins. These modifications act on individualresidues either by cleavage at specific points, deletions, additions orhaving the side chains converted or modified.

Certain post-translational modifications will append a pendant moietyonto a protein. In one embodiment, the pendant moiety is a glycosylgroup, or a carbohydrate. Glycoproteins comprise proteins covalentlylinked to carbohydrate. The predominant sugars found in glycoproteinsare glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, GalNAc, GlcNAc and NANA.Carbohydrates can be linked to the protein component through eitherO-glycosidic or N-glycosidic bonds. The N-glycosidic linkage is commonlythrough the amide group of asparagine. The O-glycosidic linkage iscommonly to the hydroxyl of serine, threonine or hydroxylysine. Thepreferred embodiments contemplate detection of glycosylated proteins.

One embodiment involves detection of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine(O-GlcNAc) glycosylated proteins. O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine(O-GlcNAc) glycosylation is the covalent attachment ofβ-N-acetylglucosamine pendant moiety to serine or threonine residues ofproteins. Unlike most carbohydrate modifications, O-GlcNAc is dynamicand intracellular and, as such, shares common features with proteinphosphorylation. Nearly 80 proteins bearing the O-GlcNAc group have beenidentified to date, including transcription factors, cytoskeletalproteins, protein kinases, and nuclear pore proteins. Recent studieshave elucidated diverse roles for the O-GlcNAc modification, rangingfrom nutrient sensing to the regulation of proteasomal degradation andgene silencing. Moreover, perturbations in O-GlcNAc levels have beenassociated with disease states such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease,neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. (98-106)

Labeling Agents and Enzymes

A labeling agent is an agent that can react with a pendant moiety of aprotein while further comprising a chemical handle for further reaction.An enzyme can be used to transfer the labeling agent or a portion of thelabeling agent to the pendant moiety on the protein of interest. Whenthe pendant moiety is a carbohydrate, the enzyme will typically be aglycosyltransferase specific for the pendant moiety of interest. Theenzyme can be a naturally occurring enzyme, a mutant enzyme, or anevolved enzyme that is specific for the pendant moiety. The enzyme cantransfer the labeling agent to the pendant group on the protein.Glycosyltransferases that can be employed in the cells of the preferredembodiments include, but are not limited to, galactosyltransferases,fucosyltransferases, glucosyltransferases,N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases, N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases,glucuronyltransferases, sialyltransferases, mannosyltransferases,glucuronic acid transferases, galacturonic acid transferases,oligosaccharyltransferases.

A certain embodiment utilizes GalT, β-1,4-galactosyltransferase, or amutant thereof. GalT is an enzyme that can catalyze the transfer ofgalactose from uridine diphosphate-galactose (UDP-galactose) to terminalGlcNAc groups. In another embodiment, GalT has been mutated, such aswith a single Y289L mutation, to enlarge the binding pocket and toenhance the catalytic activity toward substrates. Other mutations toGalT are contemplated such that the mutation provide enlargement of thebinding pocket and enhancement of the catalytic activity towardsubstrates.

Chemical Handles

The chemical handle can be one of a number of groups that can react in aselective manner with the reactive group of a detection agent in thepresence of various biomolecules, and particularly in an aqueoussolution. Alternatively, the chemical handle can itself comprise adetection agent. In one embodiment, the chemical handle comprises aradioactive substance. A chemical handle is contained on a labelingagent. Some representative chemistries are described herein.

Carbonyl Group Chemical Handle

The carbonyl group participates in a large number of reactions fromaddition and decarboxylation reactions to aldol condensations. Moreover,the unique reactivity of the carbonyl group allows it to be selectivelymodified with hydrazide and aminooxy derivatives in the presence of theother amino acid side chains. See, e.g., Cornish, V. W., Hahn, K. M. &Schultz, P. G. (1996) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118:8150-8151; Geoghegan, K. F.& Stroh, J. G. (1992) Bioconjug. Chem. 3:138-146; and, Mahal, L. K.,Yarema, K. J. & Bertozzi, C. R. (1997) Science 276:1125-1128. Thisfunctional group is generally absent from proteins and thus can serve asa chemical handle for subsequent protein modification.

For reaction with the carbonyl group chemical handle, a reactive groupcan be —NR¹—NH₂ (hydrazide), —NR¹(C═O)NR²NH₂ (semicarbazide),—NR¹(C═S)NR²NH₂ (thiosemicarbazide), —(C═O)NR¹NH₂ (carbonylhydrazide),—(C═S)NR¹NH₂ (thiocarbonylhydrazide), —(SO₂)NR¹NH₂ (sulfonylhydrazide),—NR¹NR² (C═O)NR³NH₂ (carbazide), —NR¹NR²(C═S)NR³NH₂ (thiocarbazide),—O—NH₂ (aminooxy), and/or the like, where each R¹, R², and R³ isindependently H, or alkyl having 1-6 carbons, preferably H. In oneaspect of the preferred embodiments, the reactive group is a hydrazide,aninooxy, semicarbazide, carbohydrazide, a sulfonylhydrazide, or thelike.

The product of the reaction between the chemical handle and the reactivegroup typically incorporates the atoms originally present in thereactive group. Typical linkages obtained by reacting the aldehyde orketone chemical handles with certain reactive groups include reactionproducts such as an oxime, a hydrazone, a reduced hydrazone, acarbohydrazone, a thiocarbohydrazone, a sulfonylhydrazone, asemicarbazone, a thiosemicarbazone, or similar functionality, dependingon the nucleophilic moiety of the reactive group and the aldehyde orketone chemical handle. Linkages with carboxylic acids are also possibleand result in carbohydrazides or hydroxamic acids. Linkages withsulfonic acid chemical handles are also possible with the above reactivegroups and result in sulfonylhydrazides or N-sulfonylhydroxylamines. Theresulting linkage can be subsequently stabilized by chemical reduction.For instance, the carbonyl group reacts readily with hydrazides,aminooxy, and semicarbazides under mild conditions in aqueous solution,and forms hydrazone, oxime, and semicarbazone linkages, respectively,which are stable under physiological conditions. See, e.g., Jencks, W.P. (1959) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 81, 475-481; Shao, J. & Tam, J. P. (1995) J.Am. Chem. Soc. 117:3893-3899.

Azide and Alkyne Chemical Handle

A native or mutated glycosyltransferase can be employed to transfer amonosaccharide labeling agent containing an azide chemical handle or analkyne chemical handle onto the O-GlcNAc pendant moiety. Onceincorporated, the azide or alkyne chemical handle on the saccharidelabeling agent can then be modified by, e.g., a Huisgen [3+2]cycloaddition reaction in aqueous conditions in the presence of acatalytic amount of copper (See, e.g., Tornoe, et al., (2002) Org. Chem.67:3057-3064; and, Rostovtsev, et al., (2002) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.41:2596-2599; Padwa, A. in Comprehensive Organic Synthesis, Vol. 4,(1991) Ed. Trost, B. M., Pergamon, Oxford, p. 1069-1109; and, Huisgen,R. in 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition Chemistry, (1984) Ed. Padwa, A., Wiley,New York, p. 1-176)., In a [3+2] cycloaddition addition reaction, whereeither an azide or an alkyne is a chemical handle, the otherfunctionality would act as a reactive group. The [3+2] cycloadditionaddition reaction can be used to introduce affinity probes (biotin),dyes, polymers (e.g., poly(ethylene glycol) or polydextran) or othermonosaccharides (e.g., glucose, galactose, fucose, O-GlcNAc,mannose-derived saccharides bearing the appropriate chemical handle).The Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azides and acetylenes can give1,2,3-triazoles, also called “click chemistry.” (see Lewis W G, Green LG, Grynszpan F, Radic Z, Carlier P R, Taylor P, Finn M G, Sharpless K B.Angewandte Chemie-Int'l Ed. 41 (6): 1053.).

Because the method involves a cycloaddition rather than a nucleophilicsubstitution reaction, proteins modified with the instant labeling agentcan be modified with extremely high selectivity (as opposed to reactionswith amines, carboxylates or sulfhydryl groups which are found morecommonly on the surface of proteins). The reaction can be carried out atroom temperature in aqueous conditions with excellent regioselectivity(1,4>1,5) by the addition of catalytic amounts of Cu(I) salts to thereaction mixture. See, e.g., Tomoe, et al., (2002) Org. Chem.67:3057-3064; and, Rostovtsev, et al., (2002) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.41:2596-2599. The resulting five-membered ring that is attached to thelabeling agent and the detection agent that results from the Huisgen[3+2] cycloaddition is not generally reversible in reducing environmentsand is stable against hydrolysis for extended periods in aqueousenvironments.

The chemical handle also can be an azido group capable of reacting in aStaudinger reaction (see, for example, Saxon, E.; Luchansky, S. J.;Hang, H. C.; Yu, C.; Lee, S. C.; Bertozzi, C. R.; J. Am. Chem. Soc.;2002; 124(50); 14893-14902.). The Staudinger reaction, which involvesreaction between trivalent phosphorous compounds and organic azides(Staudinger et al. Helv. Chim. Acta 1919, 2, 635), has been used for amultitude of applications. (Gololobov et al. Tetrahedron 1980, 37, 437);(Gololobov et al. Tetrahedron 1992, 48, 1353). There are almost norestrictions on the nature of the two reactants. The phosphine can havea neighboring acyl group such as an ester, thioester or N-acyl imidazole(i.e. a phosphinoester, phosphinothioester, phosphinoimidazole) to trapthe aza-ylide intermediate and form a stable amide bond upon hydrolysis.The phosphine can also be typically a di- or triarylphosphine tostabilize the phosphine.

Olefin Chemical Handle

The labeling agent can comprise an olefin chemical handle and can bereacted with a reactive group on a detection agent using a crossmetathesis reaction in the presence of a catalyst. In a cross metathesisreaction, where the chemical handle is an olefin, a reactive group is anolefin, an alkyne, or an appropriate substrate for a metathesis reactionwith an olefin. Commonly, where the chemical handle is an olefin, areactive group is also an olefin. Catalysts for a cross metathesisreaction are well-known and include water-soluble catalysts. such asthose described in Lynn D M, Mohr B, Grubbs R H, Henling L M, and Day MW (2000) J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 2000; 122: 6601-6609 and those review inChen L Y, Yang H J, Sun W H (2003) Progress In Chemistry 15: 401-408.

The chemical handle is substantially not reactive with components of abiological mixture, such as a typical cellular extract, including forexample, nucleic acids and proteins. A preferred chemical handle is acarbonyl chemical handle, which can react with a reactive group, such asan aminoxy, hydrazide or thiosemicarbazide group on the detection agent.

Detection Agents

A variety of detection agents can be used. The detection agent canitself be detectable, or can be used to recruit another labelingmolecule or enzyme, a secondary detection agent. The detection agent hasa reactive group that can bind to or react with the chemical handle.

A detection agent is an agent that has a property that can be observedspectroscopically or visually. Methods for production of detectablylabeled proteins using detection agents are well known in the art. Thedetection agent can be detectable through various detection means, suchas radioactively, chemiluminescence, fluorescence, mass spectrometry,spin labeling, affinity labeling, or the like. The detection agent alsocan be detectable indirectly, for example, by recruitment of one or moreadditional factors.

A radioactive substance refers to a radioactive atom, a substance havingradioactive atoms incorporated therein, or a substance radiolabeled withan additional or substituted radioactive atom not normally found in thenative substance. Examples of radioactive atoms include, but are notlimited to, ³²P, ³³P, ³⁵S, ¹²⁵I, ³H, ¹³C, ¹⁴C, ⁵¹Cr, and ¹⁸O. In oneembodiment, the chemical handle further comprises such a radioactivesubstance.

Most chemiluminescence methods involve chemical components to actuallygenerate light. Chemiluminescence is the generation of electromagneticradiation as light by the release of energy from a chemical reaction.While the light can, in principle, be emitted in the ultraviolet,visible or infrared region, those emitting visible light are the mostcommon. Chemiluminescent reactions can be grouped into three types:

-   -   1) Chemical reactions using synthetic compounds and usually        involving a highly oxidized species, such as peroxide, are        commonly termed chemiluminescent reactions.    -   2) Light-emitting reactions arising from a living organism, such        as the firefly or jellyfish, are commonly termed bioluminescent        reactions.    -   3) Light-emitting reactions which take place by the use of        electrical current are designated electrochemiluminescent        reactions.        Examples of chemiluminescent detection agents include, but are        not limited to, luminol chemiluminescence, peroxyoxalate        chemiluminescence, and diphenylanthracene chemiluminescence.

Fluorescence is the phenomenon in which absorption of light of a givenwavelength by a fluorescent molecule is followed by the emission oflight at longer wavelengths. Examples of fluorescent detection agentsinclude, but are not limited to, rhodamine, fluorescein, Texas red,cyanine dyes, nanogold particles coated with gold, and analogues thereofand alike.

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that is used to identifyunknown compounds, quantify known materials, and elucidate thestructural and physical properties of ions. Mass Spectrometry can beused in conjunction with chromatography techniques, such as LC-MS andGC-MS. Examples of mass spectrometry tools for use as detection agentsinclude, but are not limited to, electron ionisation (EI), chemicalionisation (CI), fast atom bombardment (FAB)/liquid secondary ionisation(LSIMS), matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI), andelectrospray ionisation (ESI). See, for example, Gary Siuzdak, MassSpectrometry for Biotechnology, Academic Press, San Diego, 1996.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), also known as electron spinresonance (ESR) and electron magnetic resonance (EMR), is the name givento the process of resonant absorption of microwave radiation byparamagnetic ions or molecules, with at least one unpaired electronspin, and in the presence of a static magnetic field. Species thatcontain unpaired electrons include free radicals, odd electronmolecules, transition-metal complexes, lanthanide ions, andtriplet-state molecules.

Affinity labeling is a method for tagging molecules so that they can bemore easily detected and studied. Affinity labeling can be based onsubstituting an analogue of a native substrate.

In one embodiment, the detection agent is a biotin or a biotinderivative. Biotin and biotin derivatives are well known to one of skillin the art, and are described in the Handbook of Fluorescent Probes andResearch Products, Ninth Edition, Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oreg., 2002.Additional detection schemes also are provided in the Handbook.Secondary detection agents also are disclosed, including fluorescentreagents (e.g., fluorescently labeled streptavidin) and enzymaticreagents that can convert substrates colorimetrically orfluorometrically (e.g., streptavidin alkaline phosphatase andstreptavidin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates). A number of detectionschemes are known to one of skill in the art and include, for example:fluorescent and luminescent probes (e.g., fluoroscein hydrazide, metalnanoparticles or quantum dots) (see, e.g., Geoghegan, K. F. & Stroh, J.G. (1992) Bioconjug. Chem. 3:138-146); metal-binding probe (e.g.,polyhistidine tag or metal chelate); protein-binding probes (e.g.,FLAG-tag); probe (e.g., dinitrophenol) for antibody-based binding;radioactive probe (circumvent challenging synthesis and handling ofradiolabeled monosaccharides); photocaged probe; spin-label orspectroscopic probe; heavy-atom containing probe (i.e., Br, I) for x-raycrystallography studies; polymer (e.g. PEG- or poly(propylene) glycol)containing probe; probes that permit protein cross-linking (e.g., tocovalently modify binding partners to protein being modified, such ascontaining diazirene, benzophenone, or azidophenyl groups); and bindingto particles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.

GlcNAc Detection

In one embodiment, the preferred embodiments provide methods for therapid and sensitive detection of O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins. Oneapproach capitalizes on the substrate tolerance of GalT, which allowsfor chemoselective installation of a non-natural ketone chemical handleto O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins (FIG. 1B). The ketone moiety has beenwell-characterized in cellular systems as a neutral, yet versatilechemical handle. Here, the ketone chemical handle serves as a uniquemarker to “tag” O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins with biotin. Oncebiotinylated, the modified proteins can be readily detected bychemiluminescence, such as using streptavidin conjugated to horseradishperoxidase (HRP).

FIG. 1B shows a general strategy for detection of O-GlcNAc glycosylatedproteins. In a particular embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the methodsof the preferred embodiments are used to detect O-GlcNAc pendant moietyon a protein or a mixture of proteins. According to the methods, aprotein having the pendant moiety is contacted with a labeling agentcomprising a chemical handle. The labeling agent can be a substrate of aparticular enzyme that reacts with the pendant moiety on the protein tobe labeled, for example, the labeling agent can be an analog of uridylphosphate sugar. A glycosyltransferase can transfer the labeling agentto the GlcNAc pendant moiety on the protein. In one embodiment, thechemical handle is a ketone moiety, which is substantially unreactivewith biological constituents. When the chemical handle is a ketone, thelabeled protein can then be reacted with a detection agent comprising areactive group, for example, a detection agent having an aminoxy,hydrazide or thiosemicarbazide reactive group. The detection agent canbe a biotin moiety, which allows recruitment of a variety of avidin- orstreptavidin-linked secondary detection agents, including fluorescentdyes and enzymes that can convert substrates to give a detectablesignal.

In one embodiment, the detection agent is a biotin moiety. When thedetection agent is a biotin moiety, it can be used to noncovalentlyrecruit a number of secondary detection agents, including, for example,enzymes capable of making reacting with fluorogenic, chemiluminescent,calorimetric products. The biotin is also useful for affinitychromatography using streptavidin/avidin conjugated tosepharose/agarose. Affinity enrichment allows for the enrichment ofglycopeptides present in low cellular abundance. O-GlcNAc peptides canbe challenging to detect by mass spectrometry in the absence ofenrichment strategies. According to the preferred embodiments,biological mixtures, such as cell lysates, can be labeled with thelabeling agent 1. Such biological mixtures can then be: treated withPNGase F to remove N-linked sugars, digested with protease such astrypsin, captured glycopeptides using monomeric avidin conjugated toagarose, eluted the glycopeptides and identified the peptides by LC-MS.Accordingly, a protein having an O-GlcNAc pendant moiety in a nuclearlysate, can be labeled using the methods of the preferred embodimentswith a ketone chemical handle-containing labeling agent and reacted witha biotin derivative. The labeled protein can then be detected byblotting with streptavidin-HRP. Such procedures can allow forhigh-throughput identification of the O-GlcNAc proteome. Anotheradvantage of the streptavidin-agarose is that intact glycoproteins canbe isolated. This procedure can be useful for rapid and fairlyhigh-throughput detection by Western blotting (e.g., label proteins,isolate GlcNAc glycosylated proteins, and then probe the Western blotwith antibodies against proteins of interest. This procedure cancircumvent developing ways to immunoprecipitate or purify each proteinof interest.). This procedure can also be used in conjunction withchromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP assays) protocols to identify thegenes regulated by post-translationally modified transcription factors.

Engineered Enzyme and Corresponding Substrate

One approach capitalizes on the substrate tolerance of GalT, whichallows for chemoselective installation of a non-natural functionality,such as a ketone chemical handle, to O-GlcNAc pendant moiety on modifiedproteins (FIG. 1B).

GalT has been shown to tolerate unnatural substrates containing minorsubstitutions at the C-2 position, including 2-deoxy, 2-amino, and2-N-acetyl substituents.(6) Moreover, 2-deoxy-Gal was transferred atrates comparable to Gal, whereas 3-, 4-, and 6-deoxy-Gal weretransferred at reduced rates. Analysis of the crystal structures of GalTcomplexed with UDP-GalNAc revealed that the C-2 N-acetyl moiety isaccommodated in a shallow pocket within the active site.(7) Importantly,the single Y289L mutation enlarges the binding pocket of GalT andenhances the catalytic activity toward GalNAc substrates withoutcompromising specificity.(7) Other mutations that provide the sameeffect are contemplated.

Glycosyltransferases that can be employed in the cells of the preferredembodiments include, but are not limited to, galactosyltransferases,fucosyltransferases, glucosyltransferases,N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases, N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases,glucuronyltransferases, sialyltransferases, mannosyltransferases,glucuronic acid transferases, galacturonic acid transferases,oligosaccharyltransferases. Enzyme design to enlarge binding pockets toaccommodate altered substrates for these glycosyltransferases iscontemplated. Generally, the binding pocket for the glycosyltransferaseis identified, for instance, through crystal structure analysis. Then,the individual residues of the binding pocket of the glycosyltransferasecan be mutated. Through homology modeling, the binding pocket of themutated glycosyltransferase can be envisioned. Further modeling studiescan explore binding of substrates in the binding pocket of the mutatedglycosyltransferase. A preferred mutated enzyme would enlarge thebinding pocket of the enzyme and/or enhance the catalytic activitytoward substrates without compromising specificity.

As a labeling agent, a uridyl diphosphate analogue 1 was designed basedon previous biochemical and structural studies of GalT (FIG. 1B). Theketone chemical handle was appended at the C-2 position of the galactosering because GalT has been shown to tolerate unnatural substratescontaining minor substitutions at the C-2 position.

This analogue can be used in conjunction with GalT or mutated GalT. Inone embodiment, uridyl diphosphate analogue 1 is used with mutated GalT.In another embodiment, uridyl diphosphate analogue 1 is used withmutated GalT with Y289L mutation.

Accordingly, a class of uridyl diphosphate analogues is designed to beaccommodated in a shallow pocket within the active site of GalT or aGalT analogue.

wherein R is a substituent selected from the group consisting ofstraight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing a carbonyl group,azide group, straight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing anazide group, straight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing analkyne, and straight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing analkene.

Another embodiment of a class of uridyl diphosphate analogues isdesigned to be accommodated in a shallow pocket within the active siteof GalT or mutated GalT.

wherein R is selected from the group consisting of straight chain orbranched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing a carbonyl group, azide group,straight chain or branched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing an azide group,straight chain or branched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing an alkyne, andstraight chain or branched C₂-C₄ carbon chain bearing an alkene.

A preferred compound within Genus A is Compound 1.

Labeling agent 1 was synthesized from the previously reported ketone 2(8) as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a scheme with the followingconditions: (a) Me₂NH, THF (53%); (b) (BnO)₂PNiPr₂, then mCPBA (54%);(c) Pd/C, H₂, tri-n-octylamine; (d) UMP-morpholidate, 1H-tetrazole, pyr;(e) TEA, H₂O/MeOH (45%, 3 steps).

Synthesis of Genus A follows closely with FIG. 2, except with the use acorresponding starting material instead of ketone 2.

In general, a novel chemoenzymatic strategy that detects O-GlcNAcmodifications with an efficiency and sensitivity that is disclosed. Avariety of applications, including direct fluorescence detection,affinity enrichment, and isotopic labeling for comparative proteomics,is also contemplated. Moreover, a broad application to the discovery,detection, and quantification of other posttranslational modificationssuch as farnesylation and methylation is also made possible by theinstant embodiments. The approach to novel glycosylated proteins and tothe dynamic regulation of the modification in cells is also madepossible by the instant embodiments.

The examples disclosed below illustrated preferred embodiments and arenot intended to limit the scope. It would be obvious to those skilled inthe art that modifications or variations may be made to the preferredembodiments described herein without departing from the teachings of thepresent invention.

EXAMPLE 1 A Chemoenzymatic Approach Toward the Rapid and SensitiveDetection of O-GlcNAc Posttranslational Modifications (95)

Design of a GlcNAc Labeling Agent

A labeling agent of uridyl diphosphate analogue 1 was designed based onprevious biochemical and structural studies of GalT (FIG. 1B). Theketone chemical handle was appended at the C-2 position of the galactosering because GalT has been shown to tolerate unnatural substratescontaining minor substitutions at the C-2 position, including 2-deoxy,2-amino, and 2-N-acetyl substituents.(6) Moreover, 2-deoxy-Gal wastransferred at rates comparable to Gal, whereas 3-, 4-, and 6-deoxy-Galwere transferred at reduced rates. Analysis of the crystal structures ofGalT complexed with UDP-GalNAc revealed that the C-2 N-acetyl moiety isaccommodated in a shallow pocket within the active site.(7) The singleY289L mutation enlarges the binding pocket and enhances the catalyticactivity toward GalNAc substrates without compromising specificity.(7)

Synthesis of GlcNAc Labeling Agent

Labeling agent 1 was synthesized from the previously reported ketone 2(8) as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a scheme with the followingconditions: (a) Me₂NH, THF (53%); (b) (BnO)₂PNiPr₂, then mCPBA (54%);(c) Pd/C, H₂, tri-n-octylamine; (d) UMP-morpholidate, 1H-tetrazole, pyr;(e) TEA, H₂O/MeOH (45%, 3 steps).

Selective anomeric deacetylation followed by treatment with(BnO)₂PNiPr₂(9) afforded the phosphite, which was directly oxidized withmCPBA(10) to produce dibenzyl phosphate 3. Hydrogenolytic debenzylationyielded the unprotected phosphate as the trioctylammonium salt, whichwas coupled with UMP-morpholidate in pyridine (11) to provide labelingagent 1 upon deacetylation with TEA.

Labeling a GlcNAc-Containing Peptide

The ability of GalT to label the peptide TAPTS(O-GlcNAc)TIAPG (SEQ IDNO: 1), which encompasses an O-GlcNAc modification site within theprotein CREB (SEQ ID NO: 48) (12) was examined with labeling agent 1.Using wild-type GalT, only partial transfer of the keto-sugar wasobserved by LC-MS (˜1.5% after 12 h at 37° C.). As anticipated, however,the Y289L mutant GalT enzyme showed greater activity and affordedcomplete conversion after 6 h at 4° C. (FIG. 3). Subsequent reaction ofthe ketone chemical handle-labeled peptide with the aminooxy biotinderivative detection agent, N-(aminooxyacetyl)-N′-(D-biotinoyl)hydrazine, under mild conditions (pH 6.7 buffer, 8 h, 25° C.) gaveessentially complete formation of the corresponding O-alkyl oxime.

FIG. 3 shows labeling of the peptide TAPTS(O-GlcNAc)TIAPG (SEQ ID NO:1). LC-MS traces monitoring the reaction progress at (A) time 0, (B) 6 hafter the addition of 1 and Y289L GalT, and (C) 8 h after biotinaddition. A and B represent base peak chromatograms and C is theextracted ion chromatogram within 1319.0-1321.0 and 1633.0-1635.5 m/z.The peak at 8 min in C is a biotin impurity.

Labeling CREB Protein

Having demonstrated the labeling of a peptide, the preferred embodimentswere applied to the O-GlcNAc glycosylated protein CREB. Recombinant CREBfrom Sf9 cells (12) was incubated with labeling agent 1 and Y289L GalTfor 12 h at 4° C. Following reaction with aminooxy biotin detectionagent, the mixture was resolved by SDS-PAGE, transferred tonitrocellulose, and probed with streptavidin-HRP. Strong labeling ofCREB was observed by chemiluminescence within seconds of exposure tofilm (FIG. 4). FIG. 4 shows selective labeling of glycosylated CREB.CREB from Sf9 cells (lanes 1-3) or E. coli (lane 4) was tested. Incontrast, no signal was observed over the same time period forunglycosylated CREB (from E. coli) or when reactions were performed inthe absence of either 1 or enzyme, demonstrating the selectivity of thetransfer.

Labeling α-Crystallin

The sensitivity of the preferred embodiments using another target,α-crystallin, was explored. Detection of the O-GlcNAc pendant moiety onα-crystallin has been reported to be particularly difficult due to itslow stoichiometry of glycosylation (˜10%) and the presence of only onemajor modification site.(13) Indeed, the existing methods such aswheat-germ agglutinin (WGA) lectin (3) and the O-GlcNAc-specificantibodies RL-2(4) and CTD110.6(5) failed to detect any O-GlcNAc pendantmoiety on α-crystallin, even when 10 μg of α-crystallin was used (FIG.5). FIG. 5 shows labeling of α-crystallin, and comparison with severalexisting detection methods. For the ketone and tritium labeling studies,0.75 μg of protein was used; for the lectin and antibodies, 5 μg ofprotein was used. In contrast, the present embodiments enabled detectionof the O-GlcNAc pendant moiety within minutes using 0.75 μg ofα-crystallin. For comparison, tritium labeling with wild-type GalTrequired 8 days of exposure to film for a weaker signal. Thus, thepresent embodiments represent at least a 380-fold enhancement overtraditional methods.

General Methods:

Chemicals and reagents were used without further purification unlessotherwise noted. If necessary, reactions were performed under argonatmosphere using anhydrous solvents. Thin layer chromatography wasperformed using E. Merck silica gel 60 F254 precoated plates andvisualized using cerium ammonium molybdate stain. Flash columnchromatography was carried out with Silica Gel 60 (230-400 mesh). NMRspectra were obtained on a Varian Mercury 300 instrument. Highresolution mass spectra were obtained with a Jeol JMS-600H spectrometer.The peptide TAPTS(O-GlcNAc)TIAPG (SEQ ID NO: 1) was synthesized at theBeckman Institute Biopolymer Synthesis Center using standard Fmocchemistry. The Fmoc-protected, peracetylated O-GlcNAc serine amino acidwas synthesized as reported by Seitz et al. (15) Baculovirus preparationand protein expression of CREB in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells wereperformed at the Beckman Institute Protein Expression Facility at theCalifornia Institute of Technology.(16) HeLa cell nuclear extracts wereprepared according to published procedures.(17) Y289L and wild-type GalTwere expressed and purified as described previously.(18) All proteinconcentrations were measured using the Bradford assay (Bio-RadLaboratories, Hercules, Calif.).

General Reagents:

Unless otherwise noted, reagents were purchased from the commercialsuppliers Fisher (Fairlawn, N.J.) and Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.) andwere used without further purification. Protease inhibitors werepurchased from Sigma-Aldrich or Alexis Biochemicals (San Diego, Calif.).Bovine GalT, ovalbumin, and α-crystallin were obtained fromSigma-Aldrich. Uridine diphospho-D-[6-³H]galactose, Hyperfilm ECL andAmplify reagent were purchased from Amersham Biosciences (Piscataway,N.J.). WGA lectin was purchased from E-Y Laboratories (San Mateo,Calif.). RL-2 antibody was purchased from Affinity Bioreagents (Golden,Colo.). Alkaline phosphatase was purchased from New England Biolabs(Beverly, Mass.), and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was obtained fromFisher. SuperSignal West Pico chemiluminescence reagents and secondaryantibodies were from Pierce (Rockford, Ill.), and the CTD 110.6 antibodywas from Covance Research Products (Berkeley, Calif.). Nitrocellulosewas from Schleicher and Schuell (Keene, N.H.), and PVDF was fromMillipore (Bedford, Mass.).

2-Acetonyl-2-deoxy-3,4,5-tri-O-acetyl-β-D-galactopyranose (19)

Ketone 2 (289 mg, 0.744 mmol) of FIG. 2 was dissolved in acetonitrile(1.5 mL), and Me₂NH in THF (2.0 M solution, 2.80 mL, 5.60 mmol) wasadded. The reaction mixture was stirred for 24 h at r.t. The solventsand reagents were evaporated in vacuo. Flash chromatography on silicagel (1:1 hexanes: EtOAc) gave the monodeacetylated product (136 mg,0.393 mmol, 53%) as a colorless oil.

¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃): δ 5.49-5.46 (m, 1H, 1-H), 5.34-5.33 (m, 1H,4-H), 5.10 (dd, J=12.0, 3.0 Hz, 1H, 3-H), 4.39 (t, J=6.6 Hz, 1H, 5-H),4.18-4.04 (m, 2H, 6-H₂), 2.84-2.72 (m, 1H, 2-H), 2.62-2.54 (m, 2H,1′-H2), 2.17, 2.14, 2.06, 2.01 (4×s, 12H, 3×Ac, 3′-H₃).

¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃): δ 207.1, 170.4, 170.3, 170.2, 92.8, 68.7, 66.7,66.1, 62.3, 4Q.9, 34.71 30.4, 20.7, 20.7, 20.7.

HRMS(FAB) calcd. for C₁₅H₂₃O₉ [M+H]⁺ 347.1342, found 347.1342.

Dibenzyl (2-acetonyl-2-deoxy-3,4,5-tri-O-acetyl-a-D-galactopyranosyl)phophate (3) (20)

The deprotected ketone (90 mg, 0.26 mmol) and 1H-tetrazole (91 mg, 1.3mmol) were dissolved in dichloromethane (3 mL). The reaction mixture wascooled to −30° C. and dibenzyl N,N′-diisopropylphosphamidite (170 μL,0.52 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was warmed to r.t. over 30min and stirred at r.t. After 1 h, the reaction mixture was again cooledto −30° C., and mCPBA (229 mg, 1.30 mmol) was added. The mixture wasthen stirred at 0° C. for 1 h and at r.t. for 1 h. The reaction wassubsequently diluted in dichloromethane, washed twice with 10% Na₂SO₃,once with NaHCO₃, and once with H₂O. The organic phase was dried overMgSO₄, filtered and concentrated. Flash chromatography on silica gel(1:1 hexanes:EtOAc) gave 3 (83 mg, 0.14 mmol, 54%) as a colorless oil.

¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃): δ 7.34-7.32 (m, 10H, arom), 5.86 (dd, J=6.0,3.3 Hz, 1H, 1-H), 5.29 (m, 1H, 4-H), 5.15-4.98 (m, 4H, bn), 4.92 (dd,J=2.7, 12.0 Hz, 1H, 3-H), 4.25 (t, J=6.5 Hz, 1H, 5-H), 4.07-3.93 (m, 2H,6-H₂), 2.90-2.80 (m, 1H, 2-H), 2.35 (d, J=7.2 Hz, 2H, 1′-H₂), 2.09,1.95, 1.91, 1.87 (4×s, 12H, 3×ac, 3′-H₂).

³¹P NMR (121 MHz, CDCl₃): 6-1.31.

¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃): δ 205.7, 170.0, 170.0, 169.8, 128.6, 128.5,128.5, 127.9, 97.7(d), 69.6(d), 69.5, 68.3, 68.0, 65.9, 61.7, 39.7,34.4(d), 29.9, 20.6, 20.6, 20.5.

HRMS(FAB): calcd. for C₂₉H₃₆O₁₂P [M+H]⁺ 607.1945, found 607.1924.

Uridine 5′-diphospho-2-acetonyl-2deoxy-α-D-galactopyranose DiammoniumSalt (1) (21)-Labeling Agent

A solution of dibenzyl phosphate 3 (80 mg, 0.13 mmol) andtri-n-octylamine (35 μL) in methanol (10 mL) was hydrogenolyzed in thepresence of 10% Pd/C (100 mg) under 1 atm H₂ for 20 h. The mixture wasfiltered, concentrated, dried and directly used in the next step.UMP-morpholidate 4-morpholine-N,N′-dicyclohexylcarboxamidine salt (36mg, 0.198 mmol) was added and the mixture was evaporated three timesfrom anhydrous pyridine (1.5 mL). The mixture was dissolved in pyridine(1.0 mL), 1H-tetrazole (28 mg, 0.40 mmol) was added, and the solutionwas stirred for three days at r.t. After evaporation of the solvent, thereaction product was dissolved in a mixture of MeOH/water/TEA (2 mL/0.8mL/0.4 mL) and stirred for 24 h. The residue was then dissolved in waterand dichloromethane, and the organic phase was extracted twice withwater. The aqueous phases were combined and lyophilized. The residue waspurified on a Bio-Gel P2 (extra fine) column (1.5×80 cm), and elutedwith 0.1 M NH₄HCO₃ at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. Lyophilization of thedesired fractions (determined by HPLC, Varian Microsorb C18, 100 mMNH₄HCO₃, 4.1 min) gave labeling agent 1 (38.7 mg, 0.060 mmol, 45%) as acolorless powder.

¹H NMR (300 MHz, D₂O): δ 7.96 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H, 6″-H), 5.97-5.94 (m, 2H,5″-H, 1′-H), 5.55 (dd, J=7.8, 3.3 Hz, 1H, 1-H), 4.36-4.33 (m, 2H, 2′-H,3′-H), 4.26-4.24 (m, 1H, 4′-H), 4.21-4.17 (m, 2H, 5′-H₂), 4.13 (t, J=5.1Hz, 1H, 5-H), 3.88 (m, 1H, 4-H), 3.79-3.69 (m, 3H, 3-H, 6-H₂), 2.79-2.75(m, J=4.2 Hz, 2H, 1′=′″-H₂), 2.53 (m, 1H, 2-H), 2.24 (s, 3H, 3′″-H₃).

³¹P NMR (121 MHz, CDCl₃): δ −10.74 (d, J=19.5 Hz), −12.06 (d, J=20.1Hz).

¹³C NMR (75 MHz, D₂O): S 214.3, 166.3, 151.9, 141.8, 102.9, 96.5, 88.6,83.6, 74.0, 72.1, 69.9, 68.2, 65.1, 63.9, 61.6, 43.5, 41.6, 30.3.

HRMS(EI) calcd. for C₁₈H₂₇O₁₇N₂P₂ [M−H]-605.0785, found 605.0803.

Labeling of the O-GlcNAc Peptide.

The peptide TAPTS(O-GlcNAc)TIAPG (SEQ ID NO: 1) (10 μM) was dissolved in25 mM MOPS buffer, pH 6.7 containing 5 mM MnCl₂ and 8 μM referencepeptide (ThermoFinnigan, San Jose, Calif.). Labeling agent 1 and mutantY289L GalT were added to final concentrations of 1 mM and 100 ng/μL,respectively. Prior to enzyme addition, an aliquot of the- reaction wasremoved as an initial time point for LC-MS analysis. Reactions wereincubated at 4° C. for 6 h, after which an aliquot of the reactionmixture was removed for product analysis by LC-MS. The remainder of thereaction was diluted 5-fold into PBS (final concentration: 10.1 mMNa₂HPO₄, 1.76 mM KH₂HPO₄, 1137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, pH 6.7), andN-(aminooxyacetyl)-N′-(D-biotinoyl) hydrazine (Molecular Probes, Eugene,Oreg.) was added to a final concentration of 12 mM. After 8 h at 25° C.,the extent of biotin-oxime product was measured by LC-MS. Optimizationof the experimental parameters suggested that a 6000:1 molar ratio ofaminooxy biotin was optimal for complete conversion to the oximeproduct. Note that different batches of aminooxy biotin were found tocontain variable amounts of TFA salts, affecting the final pH of thebiotinylation reaction. Labeling reactions with wild-type GalT wereperformed identically, with the exception that reactions were incubatedat 37° C. for 12 h.

LC-MS Monitoring of O-GlcNAc Peptide Labeling Reactions.

Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were performed on anLCQ Classic ion trap mass spectrometer (ThermoFinnigan, San Jose,Calif.) interfaced with a Surveyor HPLC system (ThermoFinnigan, SanJose, Calif.). Approximately 10 pmoles of peptide from each labelingreaction was loaded onto a Luna column (2 mm i.d.×50 mm) prepacked with3 μm 100 Å C18 RP particles. Flow rate was maintained at 190 μL/min witha gradient optimized for separation of the O-GlcNAc peptide from labeledproducts. LC buffer A comprised 2% CH₃CN in 0.1M aqueous AcOH and bufferB comprised 90% CH₃CN in 0.1M aqueous AcOH. The gradient comprised 0-3min, 2% B; 3-6 min, 2-11% B; 11-14.5 min 11-27.5% B, 14.5-18 min27.5-100% B; 18-22 min 100% B where the initial 5 minutes of flow werediverted to waste in order to avoid contamination of the massspectrometer with salts. The LCQ was operated in automated mode usingXcalibur™ software. The electrospray voltage was 4.5 kV and the heatedcapillary was 200° C. Ion injection time was set at 200 ms for full MSscan mode of operation (3 microscans per scan). The ion selection windowwas set at 500-1700 m/z for all experiments.

FIG. 6 shows the progress of the ketone chemical handle labelingreaction using Y289L GalT and the subsequent reaction with aminooxybiotin, as monitored by LC-MS. Base peak chromatograms are shown beforeand 6 h after the addition of ketone analogue 1 and Y289L GalT. Completeconversion of the peptide to the desired ketone chemical handle-labeledproduct was observed. For reaction with detection agent aminooxy biotin,formation of the oxime product was monitored using an extracted ionchromatogram within the mass range 1319.0-1321.0 m/z and 1633.0-1635.5m/z, which was generated post-acquisition via the Xcalibur™ software.Extracted ion chromatograms were necessary because the excess biotin inthe reaction mixture dominated the base peak chromatograms. Noappreciable amounts of the unbiotinylated starting material wereobserved after 8 h. Mass spectrometric analysis confirmed the identityof each product (FIG. 7).

FIG. 6 shows reverse phase LC-MS analysis of O-GlcNAc peptide labelingreactions at (A) time 0, (B) 6 h after the addition of 1 and Y289L GalT,(C) 8 h after aminooxy biotin addition. Trace D shows aminooxy biotin inthe absence of 1, Y289L GalT and O-GlcNAc peptide. A and B representbase peaks chromatograms, and C and D represent the extracted ionchromatograms within the mass range 1319.0-1321.0 m/z and 1633.0-1635.5m/z. As shown in FIG. 7, peaks c1 and d represent the same biotinimpurity. The slight difference in their retention times is due to minordifferences in column equilibration time.

FIG. 7 shows electrospray ionization mass spectra of the peaks in FIG.6. (A) Spectrum of the peptide starting material (peak a),[M_(GlcNAc)+H]⁺=1118.4. The fragment ion at 915.2 m/z represents thedeglycosylated peptide [M+H]⁺, which was induced during ionization inthe mass spectrometer. (B) Spectrum of the ketone product (peak b),[M_(ketone-GlcNAc)+H]⁺=1320.5. Ions at 1118.4, 915.2, and 661.1 m/zrepresent the O-GlcNAc glycosylated peptide, the deglycosylated peptideand the doubly charged species of the ketone labeled peptide,respectively. (C) Spectra of the biotin impurity (peak c1), peak c2, andthe oxime product (peak c3). The identity of the product was confirmedby ions 1633.6 and 817.7 m/z, which represent the singly and doublycharged species of the O-alkyl oxime product, respectively. Theadditional fragment ions at 1118.4 and 915.2 m/z correspond to theO-GlcNAc glycosylated and deglycosylated peptide, respectively. (D)Spectrum of the biotin impurity (peak d), obtained by incubating biotinin the absence of labeling agent 1, Y289L GalT and O-GlcNAc peptide.Note that the spectrum matches that of c1, indicating that these peaksarise from aminooxy biotin.

FIG. 8 shows the progress of the labeling reaction using wild-type GalTafter 12 h at 37° C. The extent of conversion to ketone-labeled peptidewas analyzed by measuring peak areas for the starting material (peak a)and product (peak b) using Xcalibur™ software, under the assumption thatthe O-GlcNAc peptide and its ketone-labeled analogue had similarionization potentials. Approximately 1.5% of the desired product wasformed with the wild-type GalT.

FIG. 8 shows (A) Reverse phase LC-MS analysis and accompanying massspectra of the labeling reaction 12 h after the addition of 1 andwild-type GalT. Both the starting material (a) and ketone labeledpeptide product peak (b) are visible in the base peak chromatogram. Thelatter peak intensity has been amplified 5-fold for clarity. (B) The EImass spectra of peaks a and b confirm the identities of the O-GlcNAcglycosylated peptide, [M_(GlcNAc)+H]⁺=1118 m/z, and the product,[M_(ketone-GlcNAc)+H]⁺=1320.635 m/z and [M_(ketone-GlcNAc)+2H]²⁺=661m/z, respectively.

Labeling of CREB Protein.

Recombinant O-GlcNAc glycosylated CREB was generated by coexpression ofCREB with O-GlcNAc glycosyltransferase in Sf9 cells as describedpreviously.(16) 500 ng of CREB in 20 mM HEPES pH 7.9, 100 mM KCl, 0.2 mMEDTA, 15% glycerol was added to 50 mM MOPS pH 6.45 containing 5 mM MnCl₂and 0.25 mU/μL alkaline phosphatase.(22) Labeling agent 1 and Y289L GalTwere then added to final concentrations of 1 mM and 40 ng/μL,respectively. Control reactions without enzyme or analogue 1 weretreated identically. Following incubation at 12 h at 4° C., thereactions were diluted 5-fold into PBS containing protease inhibitors (5μg/mL pepstatin, 5 μg/mL chymostatin, 20 μg/mL leupeptin, 20 μg/mLaprotinin, 20 μg/mL antipain, 0.2 mM PMSF). Aminooxy biotin was added toa final concentration of 2 mM, and the biotinylation reactions wereincubated with gentle shaking for 12 h at 37° C. Reactions werealiquoted for analysis and stopped by boiling in SDS-PAGE loading dye.Proteins were resolved by 10% SDS-PAGE, electrophoretically transferredto nitrocellulose, and probed with streptavidin-HRP.

Nitrocellulose blots were blocked for 1 h at RT using 3% periodated-BSA(23) in PBS, rinsed once with TBS (50 mM Tris.HCl, 150 mM NaCl, pH 7.4)containing 0.05% (v/v) tween-20, and probed with streptavidin-HRP(1:2500 to 1:5000) in TBS-0.05% tween for 1 h at RT. Note that we foundsome variability among different batches of streptavidin. In some cases,blots were probed for 1 h with streptavidin-HRP, rinsed several timeswith TBS-0.05% tween, and reprobed with another aliquot ofstreptavidin-HRP. After probing with streptavidin, membranes were rinsedand washed 5×10 min with TBS-0.1% tween containing 0.05% BSA.Streptavidin-HRP signal was visualized by chemiluminescence uponexposure to film. After streptavidin visualization, membranes werestripped in 5 mM Na₂HPO₄ pH 7.5, 2% SDS, and 2 mM βME, for 45 min at 60°C., rinsed several times with dH₂O, and re-probed with α-CREB antibodyas previously described (16) with the modification that the antibody wasused at a concentration of 1:400.

Labeling reactions with CREB expressed in E. coli were performedidentically. To generate the bacterial protein, rat CREB cDNA was clonedinto the prokaryotic expression vector pET23b(+) (Novagen, Madison,Wis.) using HindIII and Ndel restriction endonucleases. ElectrocompetentBL21(DE3) cells were electroporated and grown in Luria-Bertani mediasupplemented with 100 mg/L ampicillin. Protein expression was inducedwith 0.3 mM isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside. Recombinant CREB waspurified using Ni-NTA agarose (Qiagen, Valencia, Calif.) as describedpreviously.(16)

As demonstrated in FIG. 9, strong, selective labeling of glycosylatedCREB was observed upon treatment with both Y289L GalT and labelingagent 1. With larger quantities of protein, a faint background signalwas observed, which was presumably due to the non-specific interactionof aminooxy biotin with the protein. Importantly, the background signalwas readily diagnosed using control reactions in the absence of enzymeor labeling agent 1. In the case of E. coli CREB, for example, a weakbackground signal was observed over time, but no selective enhancementof signal was seen in the presence of both enzyme and labeling agent 1,indicating that bacterially expressed CREB was not GlcNAc glycosylated.

FIG. 9 shows labeling of glycosylated CREB from Sf9 cells (lanes 1-3 and7-9) or E. coli (lanes 4-6 and 10-12). Strong streptavidin-HRP signal isobserved upon treatment with Y289L GalT and labeling agent 1 (lanes 1and 7) relative to reactions lacking enzyme or labeling agent 1 (lanes2-3 and 8-9). In contrast, no selective enhancement of the signal isobserved for the negative control, unglycosylated CREB from E. coli.

Labeling of a-Crystallin.

Bovine lens α-crystallin (a mixture of A (SEQ ID NO: 50) and B (SEQ IDNO: 51) chains) was resolved by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis andCoomassie-stained with standards in order to quantify the amount of Achain in the mixture. For reactions, 8.7 μg of α-crystallin (6.5 μg of Achain) in 20 mM HEPES pH 7.9 was added to 50 mM MOPS pH 6.45 containing5 mM MnCl₂ and 0.25 mU/μL alkaline phosphatase. Labeling agent 1 andY289L GalT were added to final concentrations of 1 mM and 100 ng/μL,respectively. Reactions were incubated at 4° C. for 18 h and thendiluted 5-fold with PBS pH 6.7, protease inhibitors, and aminooxy biotin(6.5 mM final concentration). Biotinylation reactions were incubatedwith gentle shaking at 25° C. for 12 h. The molar ratio of biotin toα-crystallin was adjusted to minimize background signal, whilemaintaining reactivity over a reasonable time period. A 4000:1 molarratio worked successfully for these purposes. After biotinylation,reactions were aliquoted for analysis and subsequently boiled inSDS-PAGE loading dye. Proteins were resolved by 15% SDS-PAGE,transferred to nitrocellulose, and probed with streptavidin-HRP orstained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue (Supplementary FIG. 5). Blottingwith streptavidin-HRP was performed as described above and produced astrong signal within 30 min. In contrast, tritium labeling required 8days to obtain a moderate signal. The difference in time corresponds to˜380-fold improvement in detection sensitivity.

FIG. 10 shows streptavidin-HRP blot of the α-crystallin labelingreactions and the accompanying Coomassie-stained gel of each reaction.Selective labeling of α-crystallin A chain was observed. In contrast, noappreciable labeling was observed in the control reactions lackinglabeling agent 1 or Y289L GalT. Coomassie gel bands of similar intensityconfirm the presence of comparable amounts of a-crystallin A chain.Faint labeling of the B chain was observed, consistent with reports thatit is O-GlcNAc glycosylated.(24)

UDP-[³H]Galactose Labeling of α-Crystallin.

³H-labeling was performed essentially as described.(24, 25) Briefly, 8.7μg of α-crystallin (6.5 μg of A chain) in 20 mM HEPES pH 7.9 was addedto 10 mM HEPES pH 7.9 containing 5 mM MnCl₂ and protease inhibitors.UDP-[³H]-galactose was added to a final concentration of 0.03 μCi/μL,and the reaction was initiated with the addition of 25 mUautogalactosylated bovine β 1,4-galactosyltransferase.(25) Reactionswere incubated at 37° C. for 1 h 15 min. Reactions were subsequentlyaliquoted for analysis and stopped by boiling with SDS-PAGE loading dye.Proteins were resolved by 15% SDS-PAGE, stained with Coomassie BrilliantBlue, incubated with Amplify reagent, and dried for subsequent exposureto Hyperfilm MP at −80° C.

Western Blotting of α-Crystallin Using Antibodies RL-2 and CTD110.6.

α-Crystallin, and appropriate positive and negative controls wereresolved by 15% SDS-PAGE. All Western blotting steps were performed atRT unless otherwise noted. Western blotting with the RL-2 antibody wasperformed according to reported methods (26) with minor changessuggested by the manufacturer to reduce background noise. α-Crystallinand controls were electrophoretically transferred to nitrocelluloseblots, and the blots were blocked for 1 h in 5% BSA in high salt (250mM) TBS-1% tween-20 (hsTBS-T). RL-2 antibody, at a concentration of1:2000, was subsequently added in blocking buffer and blots wereincubated for 1.5-2 h. Blots were then rinsed with hsTBST and washed 6×5min. Secondary goat anti-mouse IgG antibody was applied at aconcentration of 1:10,000 in hsTBS-T containing 1% BSA. After 1 h, blotswere rinsed and washed as described before chemiluminescence detectionon film (FIG. 11A). Western blotting with the CTD110.6 antibody wasperformed according to manufacturer's recommendations. Briefly,α-crystallin and controls were transferred to PVDF and washed 2×15 minwith TBS-0.1% tween-20 (TBST). Blots were blocked in TBST containing 3%BSA for 1 h, rinsed 2× with TBST, and probed with CTD110.6 (1:2500) inblocking buffer for 1 h. Blots were then rinsed 2× with TBST and washed2×5 min. Secondary goat anti-mouse IgM antibody was applied at aconcentration of 1:10,000 in blocking buffer for 1 h, and blots weresubsequently rinsed with TBST and washed 5×5 min beforechemiluminescence detection on film (FIG. 11B).

FIG. 11 shows Western blots of α-crystallin using the RL-2 antibody (A)and CTD110.6 antibody (B). Both antibodies effectively detected theO-GlcNAc present on the CREB positive control and HeLa nuclear lysates,while the negative control, unglycosylated CREB from E. coli, remainedundetected. However, the antibodies failed to appreciably detect theO-GlcNAc present on α-crystallin, even when 10 μg of protein was used.The arrow marks the anticipated position of α-crystallin in the gel.

WGA Lectin Blotting of α-Crystallin.

WGA western blotting was performed essentially as described.(25, 27)Briefly, α-crystallin and controls were resolved by 15% SDS-PAGE andelectrophoretically transferred to nitrocellulose. Blots were blockedfor 1 h in 3% periodate-treated BSA in PBS, rinsed 2×15 min withPBS-0.05% tween-20 (PBST), and probed for 2 h with WGA-HRP (1:8000 inPBST). Subsequently, blots were rinsed with PBST, washed 3×10 min, then3×20 min before chemiluminescence detection on film (FIG. 12).

FIG. 12 shows blotting of α-crystallin using WGA lectin. While WGAdetected the N-linked terminal GlcNAc groups of the ovalbumin positivecontrol, it could not detect the O-GlcNAc moiety on α-crystallin.

EXAMPLE 2 Parallel Identification of O-GlcNAc Modified Proteins FromCell Lysates (96)

The preferred embodiments can be used for detecting a protein forO-GlcNAc modification. The preferred embodiments circumvent the need topurify individual proteins, accommodate any cell type or tissue, and canbe extended to the mapping of modification sites. The results hereinidentified four new O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins of low cellularabundance (c-Fos, c-Jun, ATF-1, and CBP) and two new glycosylation siteson the protein O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT (SEQ ID NO: 49)). Using thepreferred embodiments, multiple proteins could be readily interrogatedin parallel by Western blotting using antibodies selective for proteinsof interest.

The preferred embodiments have several notable advantages. The preferredembodiments accelerate the discovery of O-GlcNAc proteins by eliminatingthe need to purify individual proteins. Virtually any protein could beexamined for the modification as a wide variety of antibodies areavailable for Western blotting. The enhanced sensitivity of thepreferred embodiments relative to existing methods would enableidentification of even low-abundance regulatory proteins.(31) Moreover,the use of cell lysates rather than intact cells would capture thephysiologically relevant glycosylation state of proteins withoutperturbing metabolic pathways. Finally, the ability to target specificproteins across different tissue or cell types (32) would complementemerging proteomic technologies.(29A)

Implementation of a parallel approach utilizes the preferred embodimentsto study complex mixtures. HeLa cells were lysed under denaturingconditions to preserve the physiological glycosylation state of theproteins. The cell extract was then labeled with the labeling agent 1with use of mutant GalT for 12 h at 4° C. N-linked glycans could beremoved simultaneously during this incubation period by treatment withPNGaseF.(33) Following reaction with an aminooxy biotin, thebiotinylated O-GlcNAc proteins were captured with streptavidin-agarosebeads, resolved by SDS-PAGE, and transferred to nitrocellulose membrane.To determine whether the captured proteins had been biotinylated, themembrane was blotted with streptavidin conjugated to horseradishperoxidase (HRP). A strong chemiluminescence signal was observed,indicating successful labeling of proteins from extracts (FIG. 14A).Little signal was detected in the absence of either enzyme or labelingagent 1, strongly suggesting that O-GlcNAc-modified proteins had beenspecifically labeled and captured.

To confirm the results, the transcription factor cAMP-responsive elementbinding protein (CREB) was studied. CREB is a low-abundance protein thatcontains only two major O-GlcNAc clycosylation sites,(34) and as such,it represents a challenging cellular target. CREB was readily detectedin the captured fraction by Western blotting using an anti-CREB antibody(FIG. 14B). In contrast, a protein that lacks O-GlcNAc pendant moiety(25), cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), was not detected. Theseresults demonstrate that low-abundance O-GIcNAc proteins from cells canbe selectively captured and identified.

The approach was next applied toward the parallel identification ofnovel proteins. Although the AP-1 transcription factor complex has beenshown to be GlcNAc modified (36), the specific proteins and nature ofthe glycosidic linkage have remained unresolved. FIG. 14 shows that theAP-1 family members c-Fos and c-Jun were captured, indicating that bothproteins are O-GIcNAc glycosylated. As independent confirmation, thetraditional approach of UDP-[³H]galactose and GalT (33), followed byimmunoprecipitation of c-Fos was used. Notably, tritium labelingrequired 1000 h of exposure to film for strong detection. In contrast,the preferred embodiments permitted detection of c-Fos within minutes.

FIG. 14 shows (A) captured proteins from HeLa cell lysates followinglabeling as indicated. The blot was probed with streptavidin-HRP todetect biotinylated proteins. (B) Labeled lysates prior to (Input) orfollowing (Capture) affinity capture as probed by Western blotting usingantibodies against the indicated proteins.

The preferred embodiments enable study of the O-GlcNAc modificationacross structurally or functionally related protein families. ATF-1, astructural homologue and dimerization partner of CREB (37), shares onlypartial sequence identity within the region of CREB glycosylation.(34)Nonetheless, A F-1 was present in the captured fraction, indicating thatboth family members are subject to O-GlCNAc glycosylation in HeLa cells.

The preferred embodiments also permitted the identification of anentirely new class of O-GlcNAc-glycosylated proteins, histoneacetyltransferases (HAT). CREB-binding protein (CEP) is a HAT involvedin chromatin remodeling and activation of numerous transcriptionfactors.(38) As shown in FIG. 14B, it was found that CBP is O-GlcNAcglycosylated. This finding is interesting in light of recentobservations that O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), the enzyme that catalyzesthe modification, interacts with a histone deacetylase complex topromote gene silencing.(39) These results demonstrate that a broader setof transcriptional components are O-GlcNAc modified, and they supportthe notion that O-GlcNAc may serve as a general mechanism fortranscriptional control.

Finally, the preferred embodiments were extended to the mapping ofglycosylation sites. The challenge of identifying specific modificationsites has deterred efforts to understand posttranslationalmodifications, and mass spectrometry enrichment strategies are oftenrequired.(40) The preferred embodiments could be applied to theenrichment of O-GlcNAc peptides and this was demonstrated using CREB.CREB from Sf9 cells was labeled and digested with trypsin. Followingavidin chromatography, enrichment of a CREB glycopeptide (34) wasobserved by MALDI-TOF MS and LC-MS (FIG. 15A). Importantly, theketone-biotin moiety facilitated the identification of the O-GlcNAcpeptide by providing it unique fragmentation pattern upon tandem MS. Toillustrate the potential of the approach to identify new glycosylationsites, OGT from Sf9 cells was labeled and analyzed as above. Two regionsof glycosylation were identified within the catalytic domain of OGT (aa1037-1046) and the ninth tandem tetratricopeptide repeat (aa 390-406), ahighly conserved motif that mediates protein-protein interactionsbetween OGT and its regulatory partners (FIG. 15B). The location ofthese sites within important functional domains suggests that OGT mayregulate its own activity via autoglycosylation.

FIG. 15 shows (A) LC-MS^(n) signature of the enriched O-GlcNAc peptidefrom CREB. (B) Glycosylated peptides from OGT. Summary of the b and yfragment identified by MS⁴.

The preferred embodiments permit endogenous or overexpressed proteinsisolated from cell or whole tissue extracts to be rapidly interrogatedfor the O-GlcNAc modification. The preferred embodiments detectlow-abundance proteins, circumvent the need to purify individualproteins, and can be extended to the mapping of glycosylation sites.Finally, the preferred embodiments can advance the study of otherposttranslational modifications, as well as disease states associatedwith these post-translational modifications, such as cancer, Alzheimer'sdisease, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

General Reagents and Methods:

Unless otherwise noted, reagents were purchased from the commercialsuppliers Fisher (Fairlawn, N.J.) and Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.),and were used without further purification. Protease inhibitors werepurchased from Sigma-Aldrich or Alexis Biochemicals (San Diego, Calif.).Bovine GalT, ovalbumin and sepharose 6B were obtained fromSigma-Aldrich. Uridine diphospho-D-[6³H]-galactose, Hyperfilm ECL,Hyperfilm MP and Amplify reagent were purchased from AmershamBiosciences (Piscataway, N.J.). Peptide N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) waspurchased from New England Biolabs (Beverly, Mass.). Sequencing gradetrypsin was from Promega (Madison, Wis.). Agarose-conjugated protein A,agarose-conjugated streptavidin, SuperSignal West Pico chemiluminescencereagents, horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated streptavidin andanti-rabbit IgG antibody were from Pierce (Rockford, Ill.).Nitrocellulose membrane was from Schleicher and Schuell (Keene, N.H.).Dulbecco's modified Eagle media (DMEM), fetal bovine serum andpenicillin/streptomycin were from Gibco (Carlsbad, Calif.).N-(aminooxyacetyl)-N′-(D-biotinoyl) hydrazine was purchased from Dojindo(Gaithersburg, Md.). Anti-CREB, anti-ATF-1 and HRP-conjugated,anti-sheep IgG antibodies were from Upstate (Charlottesville, Va.).Anti-PKA catalytic subunit (C-20), anti-c-Fos (4), anti-c-Jun (H-79),and anti-CBP (A-22) antibodies were from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (SantaCruz, Calif.). CTD 110.6 anti-O-GlcNAc antibody was from Covance(Princeton, N.J.). Mutant GalT (Y289L) was expressed and purified asdescribed previously.(41) All protein concentrations were measured usingthe Bradford assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.).

Preparation of HeLa Cell Extracts.

HeLa (human cervical adenocarcinoma) cells were cultured in 37° C.humidified air with 5% CO₂ in DMEM supplemented with fetal bovine serum(10%), penicillin (100 U/mL) and streptomycin (100 μg/mL). Prior tolysis, HeLa cells were 20% serum starved in serum-free DMEM for 48 h andinduced with 20/o serum for 2 h.(42) In some experiments, the culturemedium was supplemented with 10 mM glucosamine during the last 5 h ofserum starvation and throughout serum induction. After induction, cellsfrom a 100 mm dish were trypsinized and pelleted. The pellet was washedwith ice-cold TBS (Tris-buffered saline, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.4, 150 mMNaCl), resuspended in 0.5 mL of boiling lysis buffer (20 mM HEPES pH7.9, 0.5% SDS, 10 mM DTT), sonicated for 10 s, and boiled for 10 min.After centrifugation at 21,500 xg for 15 min, the supernatant wascollected as denatured HeLa extract. Denatured extracts were stable whenstored at −80° C. for several weeks.

Labeling and Capturing O-GlcNAc Modified Proteins.

One volume of denatured HeLa extract (typically 700 μg of total proteinin 70 μL) was added into four volumes of dilution buffer (6.7 mM HEPESpH 7.9, 1.25% Nonidet P-40 (NP-40), 75 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM DTT) containingprotease inhibitors (15 μg/mL antipain, 15 μg/mL leupeptin, 7.5 μg/mLchymostatin, 7.5 μg/mL pepstatin, 0.75 mM phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride). Diluted extract was then supplemented with 5 mM MnCl₂, 1.25mM adenosine 5′-diphosphate, 0.5 mM labeling agent 1, 20 gg/mL mutantGalT and 2500 U/mL PNGase F. The reaction mixture was incubated at 4° C.for 12 h, and dialyzed into buffer A (8 mM HEPES pH 7.9, 5 M urea, 25 mMNaCl) twice for 4 h at room temperature. Following dialysis, NP-40 andSDS were added to the final concentrations of 0.5% and 0.05%,respectively. The sample was then acidified to pH 4.8 by adding 0.3 MNaOAc pH 3.7 to a final concentration of 1.8 mM and mixed for 10 min.After centrifugation at 21,500×g for 10 min, the supernatant wascollected and the aminooxy biotin derivative was added to a finalconcentration of 3 mM. After incubation at room temperature for 16 h,the sample was neutralized by adding 0.5 M HEPES pH 7.9 to a finalconcentration of 33 mM, followed by dialysis into buffer B (10 mM HEPESpH 7.9, 6 M urea) three times for 4 h, and into buffer C (10 mM HEPES7.9, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM DTT) twice for 3 h. Dialyzed sample was collectedand denoted as labeled HeLa extract.

Labeled HeLa extract was supplemented with protease inhibitors (10 μg/mLantipain, 10 μg/mL leupeptin, 5 μg/mL chymostatin, 5 μg/mL pepstatin,0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride), and pre-cleared with sepharose 6B beads (30 1.tL/100 μg of proteins) for 1 h at 4° C. Aftercentrifugation at 5,000×g for 3 min, the supernatant was collected andincubated with agarose-conjugated streptavidin (30 μL/100 μg ofproteins) for 2 h at 4° C. Following centrifugation at 5,000×g for 3min, the supernatant was removed, and the beads were washed three timeswith 8 volumes of low salt wash buffer (0.1 M Na₂HPO₄ pH 7.5, 0.15 MNaCl, 1% Triton X-100, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS) and threetimes with high salt wash buffer (0.1 M Na₂HPO₄ pH 7.5, 0.5 M NaCl, 0.2%Triton X-100). After washing, the beads were boiled for 10 min in 2.5volumes of elution buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl 6.8, 2.5% SDS, 100 mM DTT, 10%glycerol, 2 mM biotin). After centrifugation at 2,000×g for 1 min, thesupernatant was collected as the captured material.

PNGase F Deglycosylation of Ovalbumin.

Proteins containing N-linked glycans with terminal GlcNAc groups canalso be labeled by GalT, and, therefore, it is important to removeN-linked glycans by PNGase F to ensure labeling specificity.(43, 44)Ovalbumin, a glycoprotein with N-linked glycans and terminal GlcNAcmoieties (45), was chosen as a positive control to demonstrate thatN-linked glycans in HeLa extracts can be effectively removed under thespecified reaction conditions.

Purified ovalbumin was dissolved in lysis buffer to a finalconcentration of 2 mg/ml and boiled for 10 min. After denaturation,ovalbumin was diluted and subjected to mutant GalT/PNGase F treatment asdescribed for denatured HeLa extracts. Assuming 10% of HeLa cellproteins were N-glycosylated, the amount of ovalbumin treated inparallel represented a 2-fold excess. Following incubation at 4° C. for12 h, ovalbumin samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and visualized byCoomassie staining.

FIG. 16A shows that PNGase F-treated ovalbumin has increased gelmobility compared to either denatured ovalbumin (Input) or ovalbumintreated with mutant GalT but not PNGase F. The drastic shift in mobilityis due to the removal of N-linked glycans by PNGase F. These resultsconfirm the effectiveness of N-linked glycan removal under the specifiedreaction conditions.

FIG. 16A shows removal of N-linked glycans from ovalbumin using PNGaseF. Denatured ovalbumin (left lane), PNGase F/GalT treated (middle lane)and GalT treated (right lane) ovalbumin were analyzed by SDS-PAGE andvisualized by Coomassie staining. Increased gel mobility of PNGaseF-treated ovalbumin indicates removal of N-linked glycans under the GalTlabeling conditions.

Western Blotting with HRP-Conjugated Streptavidin.

Streptavidin-captured materials from labeled HeLa extracts were resolvedby SDS-PAGE and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes. Membranes wereblocked with 5% BSA in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4) for 1 h atroom temperature, followed by 1 h incubation with HRP-streptavidin inTBS with 0.05% Tween-20 (TBST). After six washes for 10 min in TBST,biotinylated proteins were visualized by chemiluminescence.

Immunoblotting for the Parallel Identification of O-GlcNAc Proteins.

For each immunoblotting analysis, material captured from 20-100 μg ofHeLa extracts was loaded on the gel, along with 20% of the correspondinginput material prior to capture. After SDS-PAGE, proteins weretransferred to nitrocellulose membranes. Membranes were blocked with 5%non-fat milk in TBST for 30 min at room temperature, and then incubatedwith an antibody specific for the protein of interest in blocking bufferfor 1-2 h at room temperature. Following three washes for 10 min inTBST, membranes were incubated with the HRP-conjugated secondaryantibody in blocking buffer for 1 h at room temperature, and washedthree more times. Individual proteins were visualized bychemilumineseence.

Radiolabeling and Immunoprecipitation of c-Fos.

O-GlcNAc glycosylation of c-Fos was confirmed using standard procedures(44) HeLa cell extract was prepared as described above, except that thelysis buffer contained 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5 instead of HEPES. Onevolume of HeLa extract was added to four volumes of dilution buffer (10mM Tris-HCl 7.5, 1.25% NP-40, 2.5 mM CHAPS) with protease inhibitors (10μg/mL antipain, 10 μg/mL leupeptin, 5 μg/mL chymostatin, 5 μg/mLpepstatin, 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride). Diluted extract wasthen supplemented with 5 mM MnCl₂, 1.25 mM adenosine 5′-diphosphate, 625mU/mL bovine GalT and 67 p.Ci/mL UDP-[³H]galactose. After incubation at4° C. for 12 h, the radiolabeling reaction was quenched by the additionof EDTA to a final concentration of 10 mM.

Radiolabeled extract (150 μg) was pre-cleared by incubation with 10 μLof protein A-agarose beads at 4° C. for 1 h. Following centrifugation at2,000×g for 20 s, the supernatant was collected and incubated with 20 μLof protein A-agarose beads that had been pre-incubated with 2 μg ofanti-c-Fos antibody. After 4 h incubation at 4° C., the beads werewashed twice with wash buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 1% NP-40, 0.1%SDS, 2 mM CHAPS). Immunoprecipitated material was eluted by boiling for10 min with 50 μL of elution buffer (1% SDS, 1% 2-mercaptoethanol).After centrifugation at 2,000×g for 1 min, the supernatant was collectedand diluted into 50 μL of PNGase F buffer (0.15 M Na₂HPO₄ pH 8.6, 15 mMEDTA, 5% NP-40). 1250 U of PNGase F was then added to the sample,followed by 12 h incubation at 37° C. and SDS-PAGE analysis. AfterCoomassie staining and destaining, the gel was immersed in 2% glycerolfor 30 min, followed by Amplify reagent for 30 min, and dried undervacuum. Tritium-labeled proteins were detected by autoradiography.

As shown in FIG. 16B, immunoprecipitated c-Fos was detected byautoradiography after 1000 h. Importantly, PNGase F treatment removedN-linked glycans from the IgG heavy chain as expected,(46) but c-Fosradioactivity remained unaffected. These results confirm that c-Fos isO-GlcNAc glycosylated.

FIG. 16B shows immunoprecipitation of radiolabeled c-Fos. HeLa extractswere first labeled with bovine GalT and UDP-[³H]galactose, and c-Fos wasimmunoprecipitated in the presence (lanes 1 and 2) or absence (lane 3)of anti-c-Fos antibody, followed by incubation with PNGase F (lane 1).After SDS-PAGE analysis, gels were Coomassie stained (lower panel),dried, and subjected to autoradiography (upper panel). Radiolabeledc-Fos was specifically pulled-down by the anti-c-Fos antibody.Removal—linked glycans with PNGase F enhanced the mobility of IgG heavychain (lower panel, lanes 1 and 2) but did not affect the tritiumlabeling of c-Fos (upper panel, lanes 1 and 2), indicating that c-Fos isO-GlcNAc glycosylated.

Labeling of CREB and O-GlcNAc Transferase (OGT) for Mass Spectrometry.

Baculovirus preparation and protein expression were performed asdescribed previously.(47) CREB (2 μg) or OGT (10 μg) in 20 mM HEPES pH7.9, 100 mM KCl, 0.2 mM EDTA, 15% glycerol were supplemented with 5 mMMnCl₂. Labeling agent 1 and Y289L GalT were added to finalconcentrations of 750 μM and 40 ng/μL, respectively. Control reactionswithout enzyme or labeling agent 1 were treated identically. Followingincubation at 12 h at 4° C., the reactions were diluted 2-fold withsaturated urea. 2.7 M NaOAc pH 3.9 was added to a final concentration of50 mM and a final pH of 4.8. Aminooxy biotin derivative was added to afinal concentration of 5 mM, and the biotinylation reactions wereincubated with gentle shaking for 20-24 h at 23° C. Reactions werealiquoted for analysis by Western blotting or mass spectrometry andstopped by boiling in SDS-PAGE loading dye. Proteins were resolved by10% SDS-PAGE and either electrophoretically transferred tonitrocellulose or stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue. Westernblotting with streptavidin-HRP was performed as described above toconfirm successful labeling.

In-Gel Trypsin Digestion, Avidin Enrichment and MALDI-TOF Analysis ofLabeled CREB and OGT.

CREB and OGT bands were excised from Coomassie-stained gels and treatedessentially as described by Shevchenko et al.(48) Briefly, excised bandswere destained overnight in 50% MeOH, 5% AcOH. Destained bands weredehydrated in CH₃CN, dried by vacuum, and rehydrated in 10 mM DTT. After30 min reduction at room temperature, excess DTT was removed, andproteins were alkylated in 50 mM iodoacetamide for 30 min at roomtemperature in the dark. After alkylation, excess iodoacetamide wasremoved and protein bands were washed in 100 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 8.0 for 10min, followed by two successive dehydrations in CH₃CN. Wash anddehyration steps were repeated once more, and excess CH₃CN was removedunder vacuum. Protein bands were rehydrated in 15 ng/μL trypsin in 50 mMNH₄HCO₃ pH 8.0. Excess trypsin solution was removed after rehydration,and 20-30 μL of 50 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 8.0 was then added to cover the gelslices. Proteins were digested overnight at 37° C. Following digestion,peptides were extracted with successive washes of water followed by 50%acetonitrile/5% formic acid in water, and dried by vacuumcentrifugation.

A small portion of each sample was saved prior to affinitychromatography for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionizationtime-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The remainder wassubjected to avidin affinity chromatography (Applied Biosystems, FosterCity, Calif.). Chromatography was performed essentially as described bythe manufacturer except that the volume of washes was doubled. Elutedpeptides were partially dried by vacuum centrifugation, and a smallportion of the eluted peptides was analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS. For theanalysis, peptide samples were concentrated on C18 zip tips (Millipore,Bedford, Mass.) and combined with the MALDI matrix (2,5-dihydroxybenzoicacid in 20% CH₃CN, 0.1% TFA in water). Spectra were acquired on aPerSeptive Biosystems Voyager-DE Pro at 20,000 kV in the reflector mode.

As shown in FIG. 17A, a number of CREB tryptic peptides were observedprior to affinity chromatography. The expected O-GlcNAc peptide²⁵⁶TAPTSTIAPGVVMASSPALPTQPAEEAAR²⁸⁴ (SEQ ID NO: 7),(47) which had beenlabeled with a ketone-biotin moiety, was present in low abundance (m/z3539.55). Following avidin chromatography, selective enrichment of thispeptide was clearly observed (FIG. 17B). Two additional variantscorresponding to multiply oxidized forms of this peptide were alsodetected. These results demonstrate that O-GlcNAc peptides that arelabeled using our chemoenzymatic strategy can be selectively capturedfor MS analysis.

FIG. 17 shows enrichment of CREB O-GlcNAc peptides via thechemoenzymatic strategy. (A) MALDI-TOF spectrum of CREB tryptic peptidesprior to avidin chromatography. The peak at m/z 3539.55 corresponds tothe mass of the O-GlcNAc glycosylated peptide labeled with theketone-biotin moiety. (B) MALDI-TOF spectrum of the eluent followingavidin affinity capture of CREB peptides. The spectrum revealsenrichment of the labeled CREB peptide at m/z 3539.82 as well as twopeaks at m/z 3555.80 and 3571.68 that correspond to oxidized forms ofthis peptide. The peptide at m/z 2988.52 displays some nonspecificinteraction with the avidin column and can be readily discerned asunlabeled by LC-MS/MS.

THe MALDI-TOF MS spectra of the peptides corresponding to OGT wasexamined. Prior to avidin chromatography, a number of tryptic peptidesof OGT were observed (FIG. 18A). Notably, however, no labeledglycopeptides were detected. Following avidin chromatography,significant enrichment of a peak (m/z 2548.16) corresponding to the OGTsequence ³⁹⁰ISPTFADAYSNMGNTLK⁴⁰⁶ (SEQ ID NO: 2) plus the ketone-biotinmoiety was obtained (FIG. 18B). As in the case of CREB, two additionalmultiply oxidized variants of the captured peptide were observed.

FIG. 18 shows enrichment of OGT O-GlcNAc peptides via the chemoenzymaticlabeling strategy. (A) MALDI-TOF spectrum of OGT tryptic peptides priorto avidin chromatography reveals a number of OGT peptides while nolabeled O-GlcNAc modified peptides are visible. (B) MALDI-TOF spectrumof eluted peptides following avidin affinity chromatography revealsenrichment of a peak at m/z 2548.16 and two oxidized forms of the sameeptide. This mass corresponds to the labeled O-GlcNAc peptide³⁹⁰ISPTFADAYSNMGNTLK⁴⁰⁶ (SEQ ID NO: 2), whose sequence was confirmed byLC-MS/MS. The mass at m/z 2836.77 may correspond to the labeled O-GlcNAcform of the OGT tryptic peptide ⁴²¹AIQINPAFADAHSNLASIHK⁴⁴⁰ (SEQ ID NO:8). However, tandem MS analysis was inconclusive. The mass at m/z2251.08 does not correspond to theoretical OGT tryptic modified orunmodified peptides and may be a contaminant.

LC-MS/MS Analysis of Avidin-Enriched CREB and OGT Peptides.

Having confirmed the efficacy of the enrichment procedures usingMALDI-TOF MS, subsequent analyses were performed directly usingLC-MS/MS. Automated nanoscale liquid chromatography and tandem massspectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were conducted using a ThermoFinnigan SurveyorHPLC and LTQ ion trap mass spectrometer along with a variation of the“vented column” approach described by Licklider et al.(49)Avidin-enriched peptides were loaded onto a 5 cm-long×75 μm i.d.precolumn packed with 5 μm C-18 silica (Monitor 100 A) retained by aKaisel fit. After thorough washing, the vent was closed and the samplewas transferred to a 12 cm-long×75 gm i.d. column with a pulled 5 μm tippacked with the same material. The chromatographic profile was from 100%solvent A (0.1% aqueous AcOH) to 50% solvent B (0.1% AcOH in CH₃CN) in30 min at approximately 200 nL/min (manual split from 300 gL/min).Additional time was allotted for column washing and reequilibration. TheLTQ was operated in automated mode using Xcalibur™ software. Theacquisition method during MS/MS analysis involved one MS precursor ionscan followed by five data-dependent MS/MS scans. Higher order MSanalyses involved an MS precursor scan followed by targeted MS⁴ scans ofthose masses that specifically demonstrated loss of the ketone-biotinmoeity and ketone-biotin-GlcNAc moiety in the MS/MS analysis. In thecase of the OGT sample peptides, MS⁴ data was used to search against anOGT sequence database using SEQUEST.(50) All potential peptideidentifications were manually verified. In the case of the CREB sample,the acquisition method involved targeted MS/MS analysis of thepresumptive ketone-biotin-GlcNAc modified peptide at m/z 1181.2, withsimultaneous targeted MS³ analysis of the GlcNAc modified peptide at m/z1513.6 and MS⁴ analysis of the unmodified peptide at m/z 1412.1.

The electrospray voltage was set at 1.6 kV and the heated capillary wasset at 250° C. The ion selection window was set at 500-2000 m/z for allexperiments. For MS/MS and higher order MS analyses, the relativecollision energy for collision-induced dissociation (CID) was preset to35% and a default charge state of +2 was selected to calculate the scanrange for acquiring tandem MS spectra. The precursor ion isolationwindow was set at 3.5 for maximum sensitivity.

Avidin affinity capture of tryptic peptides from 250 ng of CREB proteinidentified the expected O-GlcNAc peptide²⁵⁶TAPTSTIAPGVVMASSPALPTQPAEEAAR²⁸⁴ (SEQ ID NO: 7).(47) FIG. 19 (seealso FIG. 15A) shows the expected doubly charged ion labeled with thebiotin-ketone moiety (m/z 1181.37). Upon tandem MS, loss of theketone-biotin moiety (m/z 1512.97) as well as the ketone-biotin-GlcNAcmoiety (m/z 1411.49) were observed. Targeted MS⁴ analysis of theunmodified peptide yielded a number of y and b ions that verified theidentification of this peptide.

FIG. 19 shows identification of the O-GIcNAc modified peptide on CREB byLCMS/MS. Tandem mass spectra of the labeled O-GlcNAc peptide²⁵⁶TAPTSTIAPGVVMASSPALPTQPAEEAAR (SEQ ID NO: 7) (m/z 1181.37). CIDrevealed signature losses of the ketone-biotin moiety (m/z 1512.97) andthe GlcNAc moiety (m/z 1411.49). Higher order MS analysis verified theidentification of this peptide from the resultant y and b ions.

Experiments with avidin affinity captured OGT peptides identified anumber of candidate O-GlcNAc peptides. Tandem MS of these peptidesrevealed characteristic charge losses corresponding to loss of theketone-biotin moiety and ketone-biotin-GlcNAc moiety, which served tounambiguously identify the peptides as O-GlcNAc modified (FIG. 20).

FIG. 20A shows a peptide corresponding to the sequence³⁹⁰ISPTFADAYSNMo_(X)GNTLK⁴⁰⁶ (SEQ ID NO: 2) labeled with theketone-biotin moiety (m/z=856.02). Upon tandem MS, loss of theketone-biotin moiety (m/z 1025.00) followed by loss of the GlcNAc sugar(m/z 923.56) was observed. Similarly, FIG. 17B shows a peptidecorresponding to the sequence ¹⁰³⁷IKPVEVTESA¹⁰⁴⁶ (SEQ ID NO: 3) of OGTlabeled with the ketone-biotin moiety (m/z 895.96). Upon tandem MS, lossof the ketone-biotin moiety (m/z 1275.03) followed by loss of the GlcNAcsugar (m/z 1072.03) was observed. Notably, three other peptides alsodisplayed the characteristic loss signatures. Their masses, (m/z1209.05), (m/z 946.20), and (m/z 769.56) corresponded to the labeled OGTpeptides ⁴⁰⁷EMQDVQGALQCYTR⁴²⁰ (SEQ ID NO: 9), ⁴²¹AIQINPAFADHSNLASIHK⁴⁴⁰(SEQ ID NO: 10), and ⁸²⁶TIIVTTR⁸³² (SEQ ID NO: 11) (with an oxidizedbiotin moiety) respectively.

FIG. 20 shows identification of O-GlcNAc modifiedieptides on OGT byLC-MS/MS. (A) Tandem mass spectra of the labeled O-GlcNAc peptide³⁹⁰ISPTFADAYSNMoxGNTLK⁴⁰⁶ (SEQ ID NO: 2) (m/z 856.02). CID revealedsignature losses of the ketone-biotin moiety (m/z 1025.00) and theGlcNAc moiety (m/z 923.56). Higher order MS analysis provided conclusiveidentification of this peptide from the resultant y and b ions. (B)Tandem mass spectra of the labeled O-GlcNAc peptide ¹⁰³⁷IKPVEVTESA¹⁰⁴⁶(SEQ ID NO: 3) (m/z 895.96). CID revealed signature losses of theketone-biotin moiety (m/z 1275.43) and the GlcNAc moiety (m/z 1072.43).Higher order MS analysis provided conclusive identification of thispeptide from the resultant y and b ions as well as internal fragmentions.

To confirm the sequences of the modified peptides, we conducted targetedhigher order mass spectrometry on the candidate species. As depicted inFIG. 20, the peptides corresponding to m/z 856.02 and m/z 895.96 weresuccessfully sequenced by MS⁴ analyses. Resultant y and b ions from theMS⁴ spectra allowed identification of the peptides as³⁹⁰ISPTFADAYSNMoxGNTLK⁴⁰⁶ (SEQ ID NO: 2) and ¹⁰³⁷IKPVEVTESA¹⁰⁴⁶ (SEQ IDNO: 3), respectively. Internal fragment ions in the MS⁴ spectrum of thelatter helped to conclusively identify this peptide.

EXAMPLE 3 Exploring the O-GlcNAc Proteome: Direct Identification ofO-GlcNAc-Modified Proteins from the Brain (97)

Protein PTMs represent an important mechanism for the regulation ofcellular physiology and function. The covalent addition of chemicalgroups (e.g., phosphate, acetate, carbohydrate) extends the capabilitiesof proteins and provides a selective and temporal means of controllingprotein function (51-53). Despite the importance of PTMs, their extentand significance are only beginning to be understood. O-GlcNAcglycosylation, the covalent attachment of β-N-acetylglucosamine toserine or threonine residues of proteins has been a subject ofinvestigation (53-55). Unlike most carbohydrate modifications, O-GlcNAcis dynamic and intracellular and, as such, shares common features withprotein phosphorylation (53, 54). Nearly 80 proteins bearing theO-GlcNAc group have been identified to date, including transcriptionfactors, cytoskeletal proteins, protein kinases, and nuclear poreproteins (55). Recent studies have elucidated diverse roles for theO-GlcNAc modification, ranging from nutrient sensing to the regulationof proteasomal degradation and gene silencing (54,56). Moreover,perturbations in O-GlcNAc levels have been associated with diseasestates such as cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes (54, 55).

Several lines of evidence suggest an important role for O-GlcNAc in thebrain. First, activation of protein kinase A or C pathways leads toreduced levels of O-GlcNAc in certain protein fractions from cerebellarneurons (57), suggesting an intriguing, dynamic interplay between thetwo modifications in the brain. Second, O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) ismost abundant in the brain and pancreas (58). Although the regulation ofOGT at the cellular level is not well understood, its activity appearsto be modulated by several complex mechanisms involving various OGTisoforms, regulatory partners and regulation by PTMs (58). Finally, arole for O-GlcNAc in the brain is suggested by its presence on proteinsimportant for neuronal function and pathogenesis such as cAMP-responsivebinding protein (CREB) (59) and β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) (53,54).

The O-GlcNAc modification has been definitively linked to only a handfulof proteins from the brain (60). Efforts to identify proteins have beenchallenged by the difficulty of detecting the modification in vivo. Likemany PTMs, O-GlcNAc is often dynamic, substoichiometric, and prevalenton low abundance regulatory proteins. The sugar is both enzymaticallyand chemically labile, being subject to reversal by cellularglycosidases and cleavage on the mass spectrometer. As with many proteinkinases, the lack of a well-defined consensus sequence for OGT hasprecluded the determination of in vivo modification sites based onprimary sequence alone.

Several methods have been reported for the identification of O-GlcNAcmodified proteins. Proteins have been tritium labeled (61), enrichedusing antibodies or lectins (62, 63), or chemically tagged by metaboliclabeling or BEMAD (β-Elimination followed by Michael Addition withDithiothreitol) (62, 64). However, none of the existing methods isideally suited to the direct, high-throughput identification of O-GlcNAcproteins from tissues or cell lysates. For instance, the tritiummethodology is labor intensive and lacks sensitivity, necessitatingpurification of relatively large amounts of protein (62). Enrichment ofO-GlcNAc proteins using antibody and lectin chromatography has notafforded direct observation of O-GlcNAc glycosylated peptides and thuscannot rule out false-positives (62). Although the BEMAD approach hasbeen employed to map sites from purified proteins or protein complexes,it is an inherently destructive technique that requires extensivecontrols to establish whether a peptide contains a phosphate, O-GlcNAcor complex O-linked carbohydrate group (62).

The preferred embodiments permit investigations into the breadth of themodification and its potential functions across various tissues andspecies. Direct detection of the O-GlcNAc moiety would enable conclusiveidentification of the glycoproteins and localize the modification tospecific functional domains, a prerequisite for understanding thephysiological role of the modification. Moreover, the preferredembodiments are also useful for quantitative comparisons ofglycosylation levels in cellular or disease states, such as cancer,Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, anddiabetes.

The preferred embodiments can be applied to the direct, high-throughputanalysis of O-GlcNAc proteins from the mammalian brain. Using thepreferred embodiments, new O-GlcNAc modified proteins have beenidentified, including regulatory proteins associated with geneexpression, neuronal signaling and synaptic plasticity. The diversityrepresented by this set of proteins provides new insight into the roleof O-GlcNAc in neuronal function.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of enrichmentstrategies for the detection of PTMs (71). In preferred embodiments,proteins from cellular lysates can be selectively labeled with theketone-biotin handle, digested, and glycopeptides captured using avidinaffinity chromatography. Mass spectrometric analysis of the enrichedglycopeptides would afford the proteome-wide identification of novelglycosylated proteins. Importantly, the preferred embodiments would alsopermit the direct detection of modified peptides, enabling mapping ofO-GlcNAc to specific functional domains within a protein.

Application of the Strategy to Bovine Alpha-Crystallin.

O-GlcNAc modified peptides could be selectively enriched from peptidemixtures using α-A-crystallin. α-A-Crystallin contains one major site ofglycosylation with an estimated stoichiometry of 10% (72). As such, theprotein has proven to be a challenging target for MS analysis, requiringsophisticated Q-TOF instrumentation (72) or in-line lectin affinitychromatography (73). α-A-Crystallin was enzymatically labeled with theketone functionality and chemically reacted with an aminooxy biotinderivative. Following tryptic digestion and avidin chromatography,enrichment of the expected glycosylated species was observed (FIG. 22).LC-MS analysis indicated a peak corresponding to the mass of theO-GlcNAc modified peptide ¹⁵⁸AIPVSREEKPSSAPSS¹⁷³ (SEQ ID NO: 4) labeledwith the ketone-biotin tag (m/z 1180.5). Sequence identification of thepeptide was confirmed by tandem MS analysis. Notably, the ketone-biotinmoiety produced a unique fragmentation pattern upon collision-induceddissociation (CID), which provided unambiguous indication of an O-GlcNAccontaining peptide. Specifically, predominant loss of the ketone-biotinmoiety (515.3 Da) was readily observed upon CID, followed by subsequentloss of the GlcNAc moiety (203.1 Da) during MS³ experiments. Higherorder MS analysis localized the GlcNAc moiety on the peptide to theknown site, Ser162 (72).

Exploration of the O-GlcNAc Proteome of the Brain.

Having demonstrated the selective tagging and capture of O-GlcNAcglycosylated peptides, the preferred embodiments explored the O-GlcNAcproteome of the mammalian brain. Rat brain lysates were separated intonuclear and S100 cytoplasmic fractions, labeled with the tag, anddigested with trypsin. A portion of the samples was subjected toproteolytic digestion with GluC to broaden the scope of analysis andgenerate confirmatory peptide sequences. Due to the overall complexityof the sample, the digested peptides were fractionated via strong cationexchange chromatography prior to avidin affinity chromatography.

Nearly 100 peptides containing the characteristic signature loss of theketone-biotin tag were observed by LC-MS/MS. FIG. 23A shows an averagedESI spectrum of ions eluting from the LC column with retention time 17.0to 18.1 minutes. Peaks corresponding to peptides that displayed thediagnostic signature were subsequently selected for targeted MS⁴analysis for sequence identification. Notably, the vast majority ofpeaks in this region contained the GlcNAc-ketone-biotin moiety,demonstrating significant enrichment of this low-abundance modification.FIG. 23B shows the MS/MS spectrum of a representative peptide(m/z=789.2), indicating the characteristic loss of a ketone-biotinmoiety (m/z=925.5) and GlcNAc-ketone-biotin moiety (m/z 823.9). Higherorder MS analysis generated a definitive series of b and y ions (FIG.23C), and database searching identified the peptide as belonging to theprotein synaptopodin. Similarly, other MS techniques (72) can also beutilized to obtain sequencing information of species exhibiting thecharacteristic loss signature.

Using this approach, 34 unique peptides corresponding to 25 proteinsfrom rat brain were sequenced (Table 1). Two of the proteins,microtubule-associated protein 2B (MAP2B) and host cell factor (HCF)have previously been reported to be O-GlcNAc glycosylated (74, 75),providing strong validation of the preferred embodiments. In addition,the preferred embodiments can be confirmed by earlier reports byestablishing distinct amino acid stretches within each protein that bearthe modification. Two sites of glycosylation were identified in theN-terminal region of MAP2B. In accordance with a demonstratedinteraction between the N-terminal region of HCF and both wheat germagglutinin lectin and an anti-O-GlcNAc antibody (75), four distinctsites within three peptides in the N-terminal region of HCF wereobserved. Finally, erythrocyte protein band 4.1-like 3 was identified asmodified in a region that shares significant sequence identity to areported glycopeptide from human erythrocyte membrane protein band 4.1(¹⁰²⁹TITSETTSTTTTTHITK¹⁰⁴⁵ (SEQ ID NO: 12) and⁷⁷³(TAQ)TITSETPSSTTTTQITK⁷⁹¹ (SEQ ID NO: 13), respectively) (76).

TABLE 1 O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins from the mammalian brain NCBIProtein entry Function Peptide sequence Residues Transcriptionalregulation Sox2 (sry-related 31543759* Transcription SEASSSPPVVTSSHSR248-264 high mobility factor (SEQ ID NO: 14) group box 2) ATF-2 13591926Transcription AALTQQHPPVTDGTVK 262-278 factor, histone (SEQ ID NO: 15)acetyltrans- ferase HCF 34881756 Transcription TAAAQVGTSVSSAANTSTRP620-645 regulator, IITVHK^(†) chromatin (SEQ ID NO: 16) associatedfactor HCF 34881756 Transcription VMSVVQTK 691-698 regulator, (SEQ IDNO: 17) chromatin SPITIITTK 802-810 associated (SEQ ID NO: 18) factorSRC-1 (steroid 34863079 Transcription INPSVNPGISPAHGVTR 188-204 receptorcoactivator (SEQ ID NO: 19) coactivator 1) for nuclear receptorsCCR4-NOT4 34855140 Global SNPVPISSSNHSAR 329-343 transcriptional (SEQ IDNO: 20) regulator, mRNA metabolism CCR4-NOT 34864872 GlobalSLSQGTQLPSHVYPTTGVPT  79-109 subunit 2 transcriptional MSLHTPPSPSRregulator, Mrna (SEQ ID NO: 21) metabolism TLE-4  9507191Transcriptional TDAPTPGSNSTPGLRPVPGK 298-329 (transducin- corepressorPPGVDPLASSLR like enhancer (SEQ ID NO: 22) protein 4) RNA-binding16307494* Transcriptional AQPSVSLGAAYR 239-250 motif protein 14coregulator for (SEQ ID NO: 23) steroid receptors Nucleic acid- bindingproteins NFR-xB (nuclear 34862978 DNA binding VPVTATQTK 896-904factor-related protein (SEQ ID NO: 24) xB) Zinc finger 34854400 RNAbinding AGYSQGATQTQAQQAR 58-74 RNA-binding protein (SEQ ID NO: 25)protein Intracellular transport Hrb (HIV-1 34859394 RNAAPVGSVVSVPSHSSASSDK^(§) 360-378 Rev-binding trafficking (SEQ ID NO: 26)protein) GRASP55 20301956 Membrane VPTTVEDR 423-430 (Golgi protein (SEQID NO: 27) reassembly transport, stacking Golgi protein 2) cisternaestacking Cellular organization/ dynamics CErythrocyte 16758808Cytoskeletal TITSETTSTTTTTHITK 1026-1042 protein band protein (SEQ IDNO: 28) 4.1-like 3 TTSTTTTTHITKTVGGISE 1031-1050 (SEQ ID NO: 29)Erythocyte 11067407 Cytoskeletal DVLTSYGATAETLSTSTTTH 1460-1483 proteinband 4, protein VTK 1-like 1, (SEQ ID NO: 30) isoform L Erythocyte11067407 Cytoskeletal TLSTSTTTHVTKTVKGGFSE 1472-1491 protein band 4,protein (SEQ ID NO: 31) 1-like 1, isoform L Spectrin beta 34879632Axonal/pre- HDTSASTQSTPASSR 2354-2368 chain (fodrin synaptic (SEQ ID NO:32) beta chain) cytoskeletal protein MAP18 19856246 AxonogenesisTTKTTRSPDTSAYCYE 2018-2034 (SEQ ID NO: 33) MAP28   111965 DynamicSSKDEEPQKDKADKVADVPV 366-387 assembly of SE microtubules (SEQ ID NO: 34)at dendrites MAP28   111965 Dynamic KADKVADVPSE 376-387 assembly of (SEQID NO: 35) microtubules TSSESPFPAKE 788-798 at dendrites (SEQ ID NO: 36)Cellular communication/ signal transduction WNK-1 (lysine 16758634Signal DGTEVHVTASSSGAGVVK 1584-1601 deficient transduction, (SEQ ID NO:37) protein kinase) Ion MGGSTPISAASATSLGHFTK 2043-2062 homeostasis (SEQID NO: 38) PDZ-GEF 34857578 Guanine ISSRSSIVSNSSFDSVPVSL 1211-1233nucleotide HDE exchange (SEQ ID NO: 39) factor for RAP1/2 PDZ-GEF34857578 Guanine SSFDSVPVSLHDER 1221-1234 nucleotide (SEQ ID NO: 40)exchange SVPVSLHDE 1225-1233 factor for (SEQ ID NO: 41) RAP1/2Synaptopodin 11067429 Dendritic spine VSGHAAVTTPTKVYSE 203-218 formation(SEQ ID NO: 42) Bassoon  9506427 Synaptic veside VTQHFAK^($) 1338-1444cycling (SEQ ID NO: 43) Uncharacterized proteins Hypothetical 34855501Unknown IGGDLTAAVTK 196-206 protein (SEQ ID NO: 44) FLI316571300019H17RIK 34880180 Unknown EAALPSTK 286-293 EN protein (SEQ ID NO:45) KIAA1007 34851212 Unknown TVTVTKPTGVSFK 1051-1063 protein (SEQ IDNO: 46) DACA-1 34861007 Unknown IGDVTTSAVK 271-280 homolog (SEQ ID NO:47) *Mouse proteins identified in the National Center for BiotechnologyInformation (NCBI) database. Corresponding rat orthologs were identifiedin the Celera database. ^(†)We identified two district sites of O-GlcNAcglycosylation on this peptide. ^($)The site of modification waslocalized to Ser-372 or Ser-373 by using a combination of chemoenzymatictagging and β-elimination. ^(§)Confirmed by peptide synthesis and MSsequencing analysis (see FIG. 30)

In addition to known proteins, the preferred embodiments enabled theidentification of 23 novel O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins from themammalian brain (Table 1). The proteins fall into a broad range offunctional classes (77), including those involved in transcriptionalregulation, neuronal signaling, and synaptic plasticity. Consistent withstudies demonstrating that O-GlcNAc modifies transcription factors andRNA polymerase II, a large number of proteins involved in transcriptionwas identified. In addition to transcription factors, O-GlcNAc was foundon novel classes of transcriptional proteins such as coactivators,corepressors and chromatin remodeling enzymes, which suggest expandedroles for O-GlcNAc in transcriptional control.

The preferred embodiments afforded the simultaneous detection ofmultiple PTMs. For instance, an O-GlcNAc modified peptide with acharacteristic loss of 98 Da upon CID, consistent with phosphorylationwithin the same peptide was observed. Moreover, two O-GlcNAcmodifications were identified within the N-terminal domain of HCF.

Merging the Technology with β-Elimination Strategies to MapGlycosylation Sites.

The mapping of specific O-GlcNAc glycosylation sites is inherentlydifficult due to the lability of the glycosidic linkage upon CID and thepreference of OGT for sequences rich in serine, threonine and prolineresidues. Although the sites of O-GlcNAc glycosylation to short aminoacid sequences were narrowed, the features noted above limited theability to do site-mapping on all but a few sequences. To address thisissue, the possibility of using precedented β-elimination strategies inconjunction with the preferred embodiments to localize specificmodification sites was examined. Previous studies have shown thatglycosylated and phosphorylated serine/threonine residues as well ascarboxyamido-modified cysteine residues undergo β-elimination to formdehydroalanine/β-methyldehydroalanine under strong alkaline conditions(62, 78). Subsequent Michael addition of a thiol nucleophile generates astable sulfide adduct. S100 cytoplasmic lysates were labeled with aketone-biotin tag and enriched the O-GlcNAc glycopeptides using avidinaffinity chromatography as described. One of the enriched fractions wasthen selected for β-elimination, followed by butanethiol addition (FIG.24). Tandem MS analysis of the resultant peptides permitted localizationof the glycosylation site on HIV-1 Rev binding protein from sevenpossible residues to Ser372 or Ser373. Notably, tandem MS analysis priorto β-elimination conclusively demonstrated that the original peptide wasO-GlcNAc glycosylated, rather than phosphorylated or modified with acomplex carbohydrate. With further refinement of the β-eliminationmethodology toward complex mixtures, the combined ketone-labeling andβ-elimination approaches are thought to be a powerful tool for mappingspecific O-GlcNAc modification sites.

The preferred embodiments allow for the first direct, high-throughputanalysis of O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins from the mammalian brain. Theproteins were identified using a chemoenzymatic approach that exploitsan engineered galactosyltransferase enzyme to selectively label O-GlcNAcproteins with a ketone-biotin tag. The tag provides both astraightforward means to enrich low abundance O-GlcNAc peptides fromcomplex mixtures, and a unique signature upon tandem MS for unambiguousidentification of the O-GlcNAc glycosylated species. In contrast toreported antibody or lectin-based methods (62, 63), the strategyprovides direct evidence of O-GlcNAc glycosylation and permits mappingof modification sites to short amino acid sequences. The ability tolocalize O-GlcNAc is essential to survey its distribution across theproteome as well as understand its functional significance on a givenprotein or family of proteins.

A feature of the preferred embodiments is the potential to explore theinterplay among post-translational modifications (PTMs). In this study,two peptides that contained more than one PTM were identified. Forinstance, the N-terminal domain of HCF showed two O-GlcNAc moietieswithin the same peptide, and a second peptide exhibited evidence of bothphosphorylation and glycosylation. Notably, all O-GlcNAc proteins knownto date are phosphoproteins, and increasing evidence suggests thatglycosylation functionally antagonizes phosphorylation in many cases(54, 59). The preferred embodiments involve a non-destructive techniquethat does not require the removal of other PTMs in order to studyO-GlcNAc. As such, the preferred embodiments permit a direct examinationof whether specific glycosylation and phosphorylation events aremutually exclusive in vivo, as suggested for the C-terminal domain ofRNA polymerase II (79), or whether the two modifications co-exist, asrecently reported for the transcription factor signal transducer andactivator of transcription 5 (Stat5) (80).

The preferred embodiments can also be combined with existingα-elimination strategies to identify specific sites of glycosylation.Mapping of sites by MS has proven challenging due to the lability of thesugar moiety and the preponderance of serine, threonine and prolineresidues in O-GlcNAc peptides. By exploiting β-elimination methods incombination with the preferred embodiments, the glycosylation site onHIV-1 Rev binding protein was localized from seven possible residues toSer372 or Ser373. The preferred embodiments can be a powerful tool formapping O-GlcNAc glycosylation sites on other proteins in vivo.

The preferred embodiments identified 25 O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteinsfrom the mammalian brain. Over the last 20 years, the O-GlcNAc pendantmoiety has been established on approximately 80 proteins (55). Thus,these results represent a significant expansion in the number of knownO-GlcNAc proteins, and they provide new insights into the breadth of themodification and its potential functions in the brain.

Consistent with previous studies demonstrating an important role forO-GlcNAc in transcriptional regulation, two novel transcription factors,sex determining factor Y box (SOX2) and activating transcriptionfactor-2 (ATF-2), were identified. SOX2 is a member of the high mobilitygroup (HMG) box superfamily of minor groove DNA-binding proteins (81),proteins believed to govern cell fate decisions during diversedevelopmental processes. Although primarily known for its role inembryogenesis, SOX2 has also been detected in the adult central nervoussystem (82). ATF-2 is a DNA-binding transcription factor that isubiquitous but enriched in the brain (83). It also possesses anintrinsic histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity that is required foractivating transcription (84). ATF-2 functions as both a homodimer andheterodimer with c-Jun and is responsive to c-Jun N-terminal kinase andp38 mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways (83). Interestingly,the transcription factor appears to play multiple roles in glucosehomeostasis. For instance, ATF-2 has been shown to up-regulatetranscription from the insulin promoter in human pancreatic β-cells in aCa²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV)-dependent manner(85). Moreover, recent studies indicate that ATF-2 activates thegluconeogenic gene phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) in HepG2hepatic cells upon retinoic acid induction (86). As O-GlcNAc has beenimplicated in nutrient sensing and the development of insulin-resistantdiabetes (53-55), the finding that ATF-2 is glycosylated provides anexciting link for further investigation. Notably, the region ofglycosylation lies in a proline-rich stretch near a motif essential forthe HAT activity of ATF-2. Phosphorylation in the N-terminaltransactivation domain of ATF-2 (Thr 69, Thr 71) up-regulates its HATactivity (84). It will be important to examine in this instance whetherglycosylation and phosphorylation act in opposition.

While transcription factors and RNA polymerase II have been shown to beglycosylated, other important elements of the transcriptional machineryhave not been well documented. O-GlcNAc on novel classes oftranscriptional proteins, including coactivators, corepressors andchromatin remodeling enzymes was shown. This finding suggests broaderroles for O-GlcNAc in regulating transcription than previouslyrecognized. For instance, the modification on two proteins (including aubiquitin ligase) in the carbon catabolite repression 4-negative onTATA-less (CCR4-NOT), a large protein complex involved in mRNAmetabolism and the global control of gene expression was found (87). Inaddition, O-GlcNAc was identified on steroid receptor coactivator-1(SRC-1), a chromatin remodeling protein that functions as atranscriptional coactivator for estrogen, thyroid, and other nuclearreceptors (88). Finally, O-GlcNAc was found on HCF, achromatin-associated factor that interacts with both OGT and the Sin3Ahistone deacetylase (HDAC) complex in vivo (75). Studies have shown thatSin3A effects transcriptional repression by recruiting HDACs andreorganizing chromatin structure. Moreover, mammalian Sin3A has beenshown to interact with OGT and thereby synergistically represstranscription from both basal and Sp-1 driven promoters (89). Fourdistinct sites of glycosylation within the N-terminal domain of HCF, aregion required for its interaction with both OGT and Sin3A, wasidentified. Moreover, three of those sites are located within a shortbasic region of HCF determined to bind specifically to Sin3A in a yeasttwo-hybrid screen (amino acids 610-722) (75). It is also contemplatedthat the functional impact of HCF glycosylation on its interaction withSin3A and OGT, and on gene silencing be examined.

The preferred embodiments demonstrate that a number of proteins involvedin neuronal signaling and synaptic function are the targets of O-GlcNAcglycosylation. For instance, the modification on PDZ-GEF, a guaninenucleotide exchange factor that activates the Ras-related GTPases Rap1and Rap2 was identified (90). PDZ-GEF contains a PDZ domain, aprotein-interacting module often involved in the assembly of signaltransduction complexes at the synapse (91). Another O-GlcNAc protein isWNK-1 (With No Lysine K), a serine/threonine protein kinase whoseactivation has been linked to ion transport and hypertension (92).Moreover, two brain-enriched proteins important for synaptic function,synaptopodin and bassoon was identified. The actin-associated proteinsynaptopodin is essential for dendritic spine formation, withsynaptopodin-deficient mice exhibiting a lack of spine apparatuses aswell as impaired long-term potentiation and spatial learning (93).Bassoon, a scaffolding protein of the cytomatrix assembled at the activezone (CAZ) plays a critical role in synaptic vesicle cycling (94). Takentogether, these findings reveal that O-GlcNAc glycosylation likely playscritical roles in neuronal communication and synaptic function.

A chemoenzymatic strategy for the high-throughput identification ofO-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins from the mammalian brain wasdemonstrated. The preferred embodiments permit the enrichment and directidentification of O-GlcNAc glycosylated peptides from complex mixturesand can be combined with existing technologies to map specificglycosylation sites. The preferred embodiments enable explorations ofthe O-GlcNAc proteome in any cell type, tissue or subcellular fractionof interest. Moreover, studies of the dynamic interplay among PTMs andfuture extension of the methodology to quantitative proteomics should bepossible. Using the approach, 23 new O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins fromthe brain, including regulatory proteins associated with geneexpression, neuronal signaling and synaptic plasticity, were discovered.The functional diversity represented by this set of proteins suggests anexpanded role for O-GlcNAc in regulating neuronal function.Accordingly., the preferred embodiments can be used for detection ofcertain disease states associated with neuronal function, such ascancer, Alzheimer's disease, and neurodegeneration.

Materials and Methods

Chemoenzymatic Labeling, Biotinylation and Avidin Enrichment ofα-Crystallin.

Bovine lens α-crystallin (8.7 μg, Sigma-Aldrich) was incubated with theunnatural UDP substrate (65) (750 μM), and Y289L GalT (66) in 20 mMHEPES pH 7.9 containing 5 mM MnCl₂ and 100 mM NaCl for 12 h at 4° C. Thereactions were then diluted 2-fold with saturated urea, 2.7 M NaOAc pH3.9 (50 mM final concentration, pH 4.8) andN-(aminoxyacetyl)-N′-(D-biotinoyl) hydrazine (5 mM final concentration,Dojindo), and incubated with gentle shaking for 20-24 h at 23° C. Thetagged α-A-crystallin was excised from a Coomassie-stained gel anddigested with trypsin (Promega) essentially as described by Shevchenkoet al (67). Avidin affinity chromatography and LC-MS/MS analysis wereperformed as described below.

Preparation of Rat Forebrain Extracts.

The forebrains of Sprague Dawley rats (Charles River Laboratories) weredissected on ice, lysed into 10 volumes of homogenization buffer, andfractionated into nuclear and S100 cytoplasmic components as describedby Dignam et al. (68), except that protease inhibitors, phosphataseinhibitors, and a hexosaminidase inhibitor (50 mM GlcNAc) were added tothe buffers. Prior to labeling, the extracts were dialyzed into 20 mMHEPES pH 7.3, 0.1 M KCl, 0.2 mM EDTA, 0.2% Triton X-100, 10% glycerol.

Chemoenzymatic Labeling of Cellular Extracts.

Extract (1-10 mg; 1-3 mg/mL) was incubated with 5 mM MnCl₂, 1.25 mM ADP,0.5 mM unnatural UDP substrate, and Y289L GalT (25 ng/μL) for 12-14 h at4° C. Following enzymatic labeling, extracts were dialyzed intodenaturing buffer (5 M urea, 50 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 7.8, 100 mM NaCl; 3×2 h).The pH was adjusted with 2.7 M NaOAc pH 3.9 (final concentration 50 mM,pH 4.8). Aminoxy biotin (2.75 mM) was added, and the reactions wereincubated as described for α-A-crystallin. Extracts were diluted with 3M NH₄HCO₃ pH 9.6 (50 mM final concentration, pH 8) and dialyzed (1×2 h,1×10 h) into 6 M urea, 50 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 7.8, 100 mM NaCl, followed byeither denaturing (4 M urea, 50 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 7.8, 10 mM NaCl) ornon-denaturing buffer (50 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 7.8, 10 mM NaCl).

Proteolytic Digestion and Cation Exchange/Avidin AffinityChromatography.

Non-denatured extracts from the previous step were concentrated anddenatured/reduced as described in the ICAT protocol from AppliedBiosystems. Proteins were then alkylated with 15 mM iodoacetamide for 45min in the dark, diluted to 0.04% SDS with 50 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 7.8, anddigested with trypsin or GluC (20-30 ng/μL) for 12-14 h at 37° C.Urea-denatured extracts were diluted with 50 mM NH₄HCO₃ pH 7.8 followingthe reduction (10 min) and alkylation steps, and subjected to proteasedigestion as described above.

Proteolytic digests conducted in the presence of urea were desalted withpeptide macrotrap cartridges (Michrom Bioresources). Digests conductedwithout urea were acidified with 1% aqueous TFA and diluted into cationexchange load buffer (Applied Biosystems). Cation exchangechromatography was performed on 1-3 mg of lysate as described by themanufacturer, except that peptides were eluted with a step gradient of40 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, and 350 mM KCl in 5 mM KH₂PO₄ containing 25%CH₃CN. Fractionated peptides were enriched via avidin affinitychromatography (Applied Biosystems) as described by the manufacturerexcept that the washes were tripled in volume.

β-Elimination of Avidin-Purified Peptides.

Following avidin chromatography, a portion of the S100 lysate fraction(40 mM KCl elution) was subjected to β-elimination (62) using 25 mMbutanethiol, and reactions were stopped with AcOH.

LC-MS Analysis of Avidin-Enriched Biotinylated Peptides.

Automated nanoscale reversed-phase HPLC/ESI/MS was performed using anHPLC pump, autosampler (Agilent Technologies), and linear ion trap massspectrometer (ThermoElectron) with a variation of the “vented column”approach described by Licklider et al (69). For data dependentexperiments, the mass spectrometer was programmed to record a full-scanESI mass spectrum (m/z 500-2000) followed by five data-dependent MS/MSscans (relative collision energy=35%; 3.5 Da isolation window).Precursor ion masses for candidate peptides were identified byinspecting product ion spectra for peaks corresponding to losses of theketone-biotin and ketone-biotin-GlcNAc moieties. Up to eight candidatepeptides at a time were analyzed in subsequent targeted MS⁴ experimentsto derive sequence information. For all MS experiments, the electrosprayvoltage was set at 1.6 kV and the heated capillary was maintained at250° C.

Database Analysis to Identify O-GlcNAc Proteins.

MS/MS or MS⁴ data were matched to amino acid sequences in the NCBIrat/mouse protein database using the SEQUEST algorithm (70).

EXAMPLE 4 Protocol for O-GlcNAc Protein Capture

A general protocol for O-GlcNAc protein capture is provided.

Part A. Ketone/Aminooxy Biotin Labeling

-   -   Lysate Dilution Buffer        -   Depending on the volume and composition of cell lysate,            adjust the composition and concentration of dilution buffer,            so the final concentration in the ketone probe reaction is:        -   Hepes: 20 mM, pH7.9        -   NaCl: 50 mM        -   NP-40: 0.9%        -   DTT: 2.5 mM        -   Protease inhibitors: 1×    -   Prepare denatured cell extract by boiling cells in lysis buffer        (20 mM HEPES pH 7.9, 0.5% SDS, 10 mM DTT)    -   Mix the following (200 μL final volume—note, the volume is not        critical, but the final concentrations of HEPES should be 10-20        mM, 5 mM MnCl₂, 1.25 mM ADP, 500 uM ketone, 20 ng/ul-40 ng/ul        Y289L GalT, PNGaseF scaled appropriately to volume):

Sample Volume Description I II III Note x μL Denatured cellextract + + + 100-300 ug for transfected lysates, >500 ug otherwise (165− x) μL Lysate dilution buffer + + + 10 μL 100 mM MnCl₂ + + + Cofactorfor GalT 10 μL 25 mM 5′-ADP + + + 4 μL 1 mg/mL Y289L GalT + H₂O + 1 μLPNGaseF + + + New England Biolabs 6.4 μg Ketone sugar probe (add to + +− Dry 10 μL of 10 mM 0.5 mM) solution (1 mg ketone in 156 μL water)

-   -   Rotate at 4° C. for 12-16 h.    -   Dialyze supernatant into urea buffer (5 M urea, 8 mM HEPES pH        7.9, 100 mM NaCl) for 3×2˜3 h at 4° C. to remove excess ketone        sugar.    -   Add 22 μL of detergent solution (9.1% NP-40, 0.9% SDS). Mix        samples for 5 min.    -   Slowly add 1.6 μL of acetate solution (0.3M NaOAc, 3M AcOH). The        final pH of the samples becomes 4.75-4.9. Alternatively, add X        μL of a pH 3.9 2.5M NaOAc solution such that the final        concentration of NaOAc is 50 mM Importantly: the low pH is        necessary for catalyzing the coupling between ketone and        aminooxy groups. Salt and detergents help solubilize proteins at        lower pH. Always check the final pH with pH strips before        continuing.    -   Bring samples back to room temperature and mix for 10 min.        Centrifuge at 20,000×g for 5 min, save supernatant.    -   Add 20 μL of 30 mM aminooxy biotin solution to a final        concentration of 3 mM, and mix at room temperature for 20˜24 h        on shaker.    -   Neutralize each sample by adding 5 μL of 1M HEPES pH 7.9, and        mix for 10 min.    -   Centrifuge at 21,500×g for 5 min, save supernatant.    -   Dialyze supernatants into urea buffer (6 M urea, 10 mM HEPES pH        7.9, 100 mM NaCl) for 4 h, 12 h and 4 h at room temperature in        dialysis tubing. Dilute the sample with the urea buffer if the        sample volume is too small. The use of dialysis tubing is        essential for the removal of excess aminooxy biotin.    -   Dialyze samples into saline buffer (10 mM HEPES pH 7.9, 100 mM        NaCl, 1 mM DTT) for 2×4 h at 4° C.    -   Centrifuge at 21,500×g for 5 min, and save supernatant.        Supplement with protease inhibitors.    -   These biotinylated cell lysates will be used for Part B.        Part B. Streptavidin-Agarose Affinity Capture

For 50 mL Stock Concentration Low Salt Wash Buffer 0.1 M Na₂HPO₄ pH 7.5 10 mL 0.5 M 0.15 M NaCl 1.5 mL   5 M 1% Triton-X100 2.5 mL 20% 0.5%Sodium Deoxycholate 2.5 mL 10% 0.1% SDS 0.5 mL 10% High Salt Wash Buffer0.1 M Na₂HPO₄ pH 7.5  10 mL 0.5 M 0.5 M NaCl   5 mL   5 M 0.2%Triton-X100 0.5 mL 20% Elution Buffer For 10 mL Stock Concentration 50mM Tris 6.8   1 mL 0.5 M 2.5% SDS 2.5 mL 10% 100 mM DTT   1 mL   1 M 10%Glycerol   2 mL 50% 2 mM Biotin 4.9 mg Solid

-   -   Wash 3 aliquots of 60-100 μL of sepharose 6B beads (Sigma) with        1 mL low salt wash buffer three times.    -   Wash 3 aliquots of 60-100 μL of streptavidin-agarose beads        (Pierce) with 1 mL low salt wash buffer three times.    -   Pre-clear each sample of biotinylated lysates with 60-100 μL of        sepharose for 1 h at 4° C. with constant rotation. Save some of        the pre-clear (the equivalent of ˜5 μg of protein) for the        ‘input sample’ on the streptavidin-HRP Western.    -   Centrifuge at 2,000×g for 30 sec. Collect the supernatant and        incubate with 60-100 μL of streptavidin-agarose for 2 h at 4° C.        with constant rotation. Centrifuge at 2,000×g for 30 sec.        Collect the beads. Remove the flow-through and save at least ˜5        ug of protein for ‘flow-through sample’ on the streptavidin-HRP        Western.    -   Wash three times with 1 mL cold low salt wash buffer, and three        times with 1 mL cold high salt wash buffer. During each wash,        rotate the microcentrifuge tube for 5 min at 4° C. After each        wash, pellet the beads by centrifugation at 2,000×g for 30 s and        discard supernatant.    -   To each aliquot of beads add 2×volume of elution buffer. Vortex        the sample briefly and boil for 5 min. Remove from heat, vortex        again and boil for another 5 min    -   Centrifuge at 2000×g for 1 min, and collect the supernatant as        eluted material.    -   To examine if the capture of biotinylated proteins is        successful, analyze eluted materials by Western blotting with        horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated streptavidin. The gel        intended for stretpavidin-HRP should contain the following        samples: ˜5 μg input from the +GalT/+ket, +GalT/−Ket,        −GalT/+ket; ˜5 μg flow-through +GalT/+ket, +GalT/−Ket,        −GalT/+ket, and 5 μg eluent +GalT/+ket, +GalT/−Ket, −GalT/+ket.        The remainder of the eluent may be used (in whatever fraction        deemed necessary) for the Western blot with the antibody against        the protein of interest. The researcher should anticipate seeing        a strong streptavidin-HRP signal for the input lanes, virtually        no signal for the flow-through lanes, a strong signal in the        reaction (+GalT/+ket) eluent lane and virtually no signal in the        control eluent lanes.        Part C. HRP-Streptavidin Western Blotting    -   Resolve proteins eluted off streptavidin-agarose beads by        SDS-PAGE.    -   Transfer proteins to nitrocellulose membrane.    -   Rinse the membrane with TBS (pH 7.4).    -   Block with 5% BSA in TBS for 1 h at room temperature.    -   Incubate with HRP-streptavidin (Pierce) 1:20,000 in TBS-Tween        0.05% for 1 h at room temperature.    -   Rinse twice with TBS-Tween 0.05%    -   Wash 6×10 min with TBS-Tween 0.05% at room temperature    -   Visualize biotinylated proteins by enhanced chemiluminescence

Although the invention has been described with reference to embodimentsand examples, it should be understood that various modifications can bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly,the invention is limited only by the following claims. All referencescited herein are hereby expressly incorporated by reference.

REFERENCES

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1. A method for detecting a post-translationally modified protein with aglycosyl group comprising contacting the protein with a glycosyltransferase enzyme and a labeling agent, wherein the labeling agentcomprises a chemical handle and a transferable glycosyl group, whereinthe glycosyl transferase catalyzes the transfer of the labeling agentand the chemical handle to the post-translationally modified protein;contacting the modified protein having the transferred labeling agentand the chemical handle with a detection agent, wherein the chemicalhandle reacts with a reactive group on the detection agent to form acovalent bond; and detecting the detection agent, that is covalentlybound to said chemical handle wherein the detection of the bounddetection agent indicates the presence of a post-translationallymodified protein.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the glycosyl groupon the post-translationally modified protein is selected from the groupconsisting of glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, GalNAc, GIcNAc andNANA.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the glycosyl group on thepost-translationally modified protein is GIcNAc.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the glycosyl transferase is GalT or a mutant thereof.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the detection agent is selected from thegroup consisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymatic reagent that canconvert substrates calorimetrically or fluorometrically, fluorescent andluminescent probe, metal-binding probe, protein-binding probe, probe forantibody-based binding, radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-labelor spectroscopic probe, heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containingprobe, probe for protein cross-linking, and probe for binding toparticles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the detection agent recruits another agentselected from the group consisting of a labeling agent, an enzyme, and asecondary detection agent.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thedetection agent is biotin or biotin derivative.
 8. The method of claim7, wherein biotin recruits a secondary detection agent selected from thegroup consisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymatic reagent that canconvert substrates colorimetrically or fluorometrically, fluorescent andluminescent probe, metal binding probe, protein-binding probe, probe forantibody-based binding, radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-labelor spectroscopic probe, heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containingprobe, probe for protein cross-linking, and probe for binding toparticles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the chemical handle is selected from thegroup consisting of carbonyl group, azide group, alkyne group, andolefin group.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the chemical handle isa carbonyl group.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection agentcomprises a reactive group selected from the group consisting of—NR¹—NH₂ (hydrazide), —NR¹ (C═O)NR²NH₂ (semicarbazide),—NR¹(C═S)NR²NH₂(thiosemicarbazide), —(C═O)NR¹NH₂ (carbonylhydrazide),—(C═S)NR¹NH₂ (thiocarbonylhydrazide), —(SO₂)NR¹NH₂ (sulfonylhydrazide),—NR¹NR₂(C═O)NR³NH₂ (carbazide), —NR¹NR₂(C═S)NR₃NH₂ (thiocarbazide), and—O—NH₂ (aminooxy), wherein each R¹, R², and R³ is independently H oralkyl having 1-6 carbons.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetection agent comprises a reactive group selected from the groupconsisting of hydrazide, aminooxy, semicarbazide, carbohydrazide, andsulfonyihydrazide.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting stepis achieved by a means selected from the group consisting ofradioactively, chemiluminescent, fluorescent, mass spectrometric,spin-labeling, and affinity labeling.
 14. A method for detecting apost-translationally modified protein with a glycosyl group comprisingcontacting the protein with a GalT or a mutant of GalT, and a labelingagent, wherein the labeling agent comprises a transferable glycosylgroup and a chemical handle and has the formula

wherein the GalT or a mutant of GalT catalyzes the transfer of theglycosyl group and the chemical handle to the post-translationallymodified protein, contacting the modified protein having the transferredglycosyl group and the chemical handle with a detection agent whereinthe chemical handle reacts with a reactive group on the detection agent;and detecting the detection agent that is covalently bound to saidchemical handle wherein the detection of the bound detection agentindicates the presence of a post-translationally modified protein. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein the glycosyl group on thepost-translationally modified protein is selected from the groupconsisting of glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, GalNAc, GIcNAc andNANA.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the glycosyl group of thepost-translationally modified protein is GIcNAc.
 17. The method of claim14, wherein the GalT is mutated with Y289L.
 18. The method of claim 14,wherein the detection agent is selected from the group consisting offluorescent reagent, enzymatic reagent that can convert substratescalorimetrically or fluorometrically, fluorescent and luminescent probe,metal-binding probe, protein-binding probe, probe for antibody-basedbinding, radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-label orspectroscopic probe, heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containingprobe, probe for protein cross-linking, and probe for binding toparticles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.
 19. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the detection agent recruits another agentselected from the group consisting of a labeling agent, an enzyme, and asecondary detection agent.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein thedetection agent is biotin or biotin derivative.
 21. The method of claim20, wherein biotin recruits a secondary detection agent selected fromthe group consisting of fluorescent reagent, enzymatic reagent that canconvert substrates calorimetrically or fluorometrically, fluorescent andluminescent probe, metal-binding probe, protein-binding probe, probe forantibody-based binding, radioactive probe, photocaged probe, spin-labelor spectroscopic probe, heavy-atom containing probe, polymer containingprobe, probe for protein cross-linking, and probe for binding toparticles or surfaces that contain complementary functionality.
 22. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the detection agent comprises a reactivegroup selected from the group consisting of —NR¹—NH₂ (hydrazide),—NR¹(C═O)NR²NH₂ (semicarbazide), —NR¹(C═S)NR²NH₂ (thiosemicarbazide),—(C═O)NR¹NH₂ (carbonylhydrazide), —(C═S)NR¹NH₂ (thiocarbonylhydrazide),—(SO2)NR¹NH₂ (sulfonylhydrazide), —NR¹NR²(C═O)NR³NH₂ (carbazide),—NR¹NR₂(C═S)NR₃NH₂(thiocarbazide), and —O—NH₂ (aminooxy), wherein eachR¹, R², and R³ is independently H or alkyl having 1-6 carbons.
 23. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the detection agent comprises a reactivegroup selected from the group consisting of hydrazide, hydroxylamine,semicarbazide, carbohydrazide, and sulfonyihydrazide.
 24. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the detecting step is achieved by a means selectedfrom the group consisting of radioactively, chemituminescent,fluorescent, mass spectrometric, spin-labeling, and affinity labeling.25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the labeling agent has theformula:

wherein R is a substituent selected from the group consisting ofstraight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing a carbonyl group,azide group, straight chain or branched C₁-C-₁₂ carbon chain bearing anazide group, straight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing analkyne, and straight chain or branched C₁-C₁₂ carbon chain bearing analkene.
 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the labeling agenthas the formula:

and the glycosyl transferase enzyme is GalT or a mutant thereof.